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The Everton manager had made clear before the match against Fulham that the responsibility for scoring goals should not rest only on the team's forwards. “I demand more goals from my centre-halves and central players as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane rose to the occasion, earning a well-earned victory over the opposition's ineffective side.

The Merseyside club's second victory in nine outings was largely untroubled as the visitors showed why their top marksman this season is opposition own goals. Apart from a short spell in the second half, the away side were subdued throughout by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three goals ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from Gueye in first-half stoppage time and the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for their ex-coach.

No player was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at Sunderland earlier in the week. The youngster directed the earliest chance of the game over Bernd Leno’s goal frame when picked out by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for fouling the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the same player later in the half but the referee, the man in charge, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a sending off. The Fulham boss was taking no further chances, however, and substituted the midfielder at the interval.

The striker believed his fortune had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to turn in a low cross by Gueye. But the elation of a maiden strike was erased by an assistant referee’s flag. The attacker was offside when going for Gueye’s cross, and failing to connect, and the video assistant referee supported the original call. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in front of goal, but his overall display validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His movement and work-rate occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give the hosts the edge throughout.

Fulham came into the contest slowly with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian combining effectively in the engine room, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when set up in the box by Iwobi and sent a free-kick from a dangerous position directly at the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, driven on by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a another strike disallowed for an infringement when Leno parried a Keane header and the captain fired home the loose ball. The home captain had just strayed offside when nodding down the winger's cross in the build-up. But the team's next effort past Leno counted. Vitalii Mykolenko delivered a lovely cross to the back post when left unmarked on the left flank by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam mishit the rebound, his teammate Gueye converted from point-blank. The relief inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a further effort disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker found the bottom corner from a further excellent delivery from the left. The attacker had cushioned the delivery into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the ball that fell to the home player. The team would have to wait until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a set-piece that Keane glanced over the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for a handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger following the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his feet to prevent the substitute finding the net with his first touch and denied the speedster with a crucial save in the dying moments.