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The Everton manager had emphasized before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net must not fall solely on the team's forwards. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he stated. The Senegalese midfielder and Michael Keane duly obliged, securing a fully deserved victory over the opposition's ineffective team.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was relatively comfortable as the visitors showed the reason their leading scorer this season is opposition own goals. Aside from a short spell in the latter period, the away side were kept quiet all match by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for infringements, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and the defender's second-half header made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No one was more in need of scoring as much as the young striker, the Everton attacker who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without a shot on target after his big-money move from the Spanish side and missed a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old directed the first opportunity of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

The home side dominated the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was booked for fouling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian tripped the same player again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, though, and substituted the player at the break.

Barry thought his fortune had finally turned when sliding in at the far post to turn in a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a maiden strike was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when going for the delivery, and missing, and the VAR backed up the original call. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance justified Moyes’ decision to stick with him. His movement and effort occupied the opposition's back line and helped give Everton the edge all game.

The Londoners came into the contest gradually with Sander Berge and the ex-Goodison player Alex Iwobi combining effectively in the engine room, but the early danger from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up in the box by his teammate and sent a free-kick from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by the midfielder and Ndiaye, had a another strike disallowed for offside when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The skipper had moved offside when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the buildup. But the team's third attempt past Leno counted. Vitalii Mykolenko floated a lovely cross to the back post when found in space on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though the midfielder mishit the rebound, his midfield partner the scorer finished from point-blank. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

The home side had a further effort disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall found the bottom corner from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into Barry, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the ball that reached the Everton midfielder. The team would have to wait until the closing stages for the comfort of a second goal. The provider was the architect with a set-piece that Keane glanced over the goalkeeper. He did so with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by VAR.

Fulham posed more danger following the introductions of Josh King, the Brazilian and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his feet to deny Muniz scoring with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.