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David Moyes had stressed before the match against Fulham that the onus for scoring goals should not fall solely on the team's strikers. “I want more goals from my centre-halves and midfielders as well,” he insisted. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender duly obliged, earning a well-earned victory over Marco Silva’s toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine outings was relatively comfortable as the visitors highlighted why their top marksman this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the away side were kept quiet throughout by Everton’s superior intensity and quality. Moyes’ team had three efforts ruled out for infringements, but a poacher’s finish from the midfielder in first-half stoppage time and the defender's second-half header ensured there would be no reprieve for the former Everton manager.

No player needed a goal as much as Thierno Barry, the Goodison Park forward who had failed to register a shot on target in 10 league games without testing the goalkeeper after his £27m summer arrival from the Spanish side and missed a clear opportunity to put his team two goals ahead at the Stadium of Light on Monday. The youngster directed the first opportunity of the game wide of the Fulham keeper's crossbar when found by Iliman Ndiaye’s excellent delivery.

Everton controlled the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper pushed over the midfielder's 30-yard free-kick, awarded after the Fulham player was booked for hauling down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Serbian brought down the identical opponent later in the half but the official, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. Silva was not risking anything, though, and substituted the player at the break.

The striker thought his fortune had changed at last when arriving at the back post to convert a drilled pass by his teammate. But the elation of a first Everton goal was wiped out by an assistant referee’s flag. Ndiaye was in an illegal position when attacking Gueye’s cross, and missing, and the VAR supported the on-field decision. The forward's bad luck may have persisted in front of goal, but his all-round performance validated the manager's choice to stick with him. His runs and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand throughout.

The Londoners came into the contest slowly with Sander Berge and the former Everton midfielder the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was minimal. The Mexican striker fired weakly at the England keeper when teed up in the box by Iwobi and put a set-piece from a promising location straight into the defensive barrier. And that was it.

Everton, inspired by the midfielder and the forward, had a another strike disallowed for an infringement when Leno parried a effort from Keane and the captain fired home the rebound. The skipper had moved offside when heading on Jack Grealish’s cross in the build-up. But Everton’s third attempt past Leno counted. The left-back delivered a perfect ball to the back post when found in space on the left by Tim Iroegbunam. The defender connected with a powerful nod off the crossbar and, though Iroegbunam fluffed his lines, his midfield partner the scorer finished from close range. The sense of release inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a further effort disallowed early in the second half after the playmaker scored from a further excellent delivery from the left. Ndiaye had cushioned the ball into Barry, who was in an offside position when challenging the Fulham defender for the touch that fell to the Everton midfielder. The team would have to be patient until the 81st minute for the comfort of a two-goal lead. The provider was the architect with a corner that the defender directed past the goalkeeper. He scored with the back of his shoulder, and the visitors' protests for a handball were dismissed by VAR.

Silva’s side posed more danger following the introductions of the forward, the Brazilian and the winger. Pickford made a fine stop with his feet to prevent the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and denied the speedster with a crucial save late on.