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David Moyes had made clear before Fulham's visit that the onus for finding the back of the net should not rest only on the team's forwards. “I want more goals from my defenders and midfielders as well,” he stated. Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane duly obliged, earning a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless team.

Everton’s second victory in nine outings was relatively comfortable as Fulham highlighted why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a short spell in the second half, the away side were subdued all match by Everton’s greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three goals disallowed for offside, but a close-range strike from the midfielder in added time before the break and the defender's late conversion made sure there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player was more in need of scoring more than the young striker, the Goodison Park 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 Villarreal and spurned a clear opportunity to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The 23-year-old directed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s crossbar when found by his teammate's fine cross.

Everton controlled the early exchanges and the visiting shot-stopper tipped over James Garner’s long-range set-piece, given after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent later in the half but the referee, Andrew Madley, rightly ignored Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the midfielder at the break.

The striker thought his fortune had finally turned when arriving at the far post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a first Everton goal was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was offside when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in the final third, but his all-round performance justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and effort kept busy Fulham’s central defenders and contributed to Everton the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners grew into the game slowly with the Norwegian and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian combining effectively in midfield, but the first half threat from the away team was limited. Raúl Jiménez shot tamely at the England keeper when teed up inside the area by Iwobi and sent a set-piece from a promising location straight into the Everton wall. That summed up their attacking output.

The Blues, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a another strike disallowed for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the rebound. The home captain had just strayed beyond the last defender when heading on the winger's cross in the buildup. But Everton’s next effort beating the keeper counted. The left-back floated a lovely cross to the far post when left unmarked on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. Tarkowski met it with a thumping header against the bar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his teammate Gueye converted from close range. The sense of release inside the ground was evident.

Everton had a third goal disallowed after the restart after Dewsbury-Hall scored from a further excellent Mykolenko cross. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging Joachim Anderson for the touch that reached the home player. The team would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a second goal. Dewsbury-Hall was the creator with a corner that the defender glanced past the goalkeeper. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were rejected by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger following the substitutions of the forward, Rodrigo Muniz and the winger. The Everton keeper saved well with his legs to prevent Muniz finding the net with his first touch and denied the speedster with another important stop in the dying moments.