Gueye and Michael Keane find the net as Everton defeat the Cottagers

The Everton manager had emphasized before the match against Fulham that the onus for finding the back of the net should not fall solely on his side's forwards. “I demand more goals from my defenders and central players as well,” he declared. Idrissa Gueye and the English defender responded perfectly, earning a fully deserved victory over the opposition's toothless side.

The Merseyside club's second win in nine matches was relatively comfortable as the visitors highlighted why their leading scorer this season is goals gifted by opponents. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, the visitors were subdued all match by the home team's greater urgency and quality. The Blues had three goals ruled out for offside, 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 comeback for the former Everton manager.

No one was more in need of scoring more than Thierno Barry, the Everton attacker who had gone 10 Premier League outings without a shot on target after his big-money move from the Spanish side and spurned a gilt-edged chance to put his team 2-0 up at Sunderland on Monday. The youngster headed the earliest chance of the game wide of Bernd Leno’s goal frame when found by his teammate's excellent delivery.

Everton dominated the opening stages and the Fulham goalkeeper tipped over the midfielder's long-range set-piece, awarded after Sasa Lukic was yellow-carded for hauling down the Everton midfielder. The Serbian tripped the identical opponent again before halftime but the referee, the man in charge, correctly waved away Everton appeals for a second yellow. The Fulham boss was not risking anything, though, and withdrew the player at the break.

The striker believed his fortune had finally turned when sliding in at the back post to convert a drilled pass by Gueye. But the joy of a maiden strike was erased by an linesman's decision. The attacker was in an illegal position when going for the delivery, and failing to connect, and the VAR backed up the on-field decision. Barry’s misfortune may have persisted in the final third, but his overall display justified the manager's choice to keep the faith. His movement and effort occupied Fulham’s central defenders and helped give Everton the upper hand throughout.

Fulham came into the contest gradually with the Norwegian and the ex-Goodison player the Nigerian working well in the engine room, but the early danger from the visitors was limited. Raúl Jiménez fired weakly at Jordon Pickford when set up inside the area by his teammate and sent a set-piece from a promising location directly at the Everton wall. And that was it.

Everton, inspired by Dewsbury-Hall and the forward, had a second goal disallowed for an infringement when the Fulham goalkeeper parried a Keane header and the captain volleyed in the rebound. The home captain had moved beyond the last defender when nodding down Jack Grealish’s delivery in the build-up. But the team's third attempt past Leno did stand. The left-back floated a perfect ball to the back post when left unmarked on the left by the youngster. Tarkowski met it with a powerful nod against the bar and, though the midfielder fluffed his lines, his midfield partner Gueye finished from point-blank. The relief inside Hill Dickinson Stadium was evident.

Everton had a further effort disallowed early in the second half after Dewsbury-Hall scored from another inviting delivery from the left. Ndiaye had laid off the ball into the striker, who was offside when competing with the Fulham defender for the touch that reached the Everton midfielder. Everton would have to be patient until the closing stages for the security of a two-goal lead. Dewsbury-Hall was the architect with a set-piece that Keane directed past Leno. He did so with the upper body, and Fulham’s appeals for handball were dismissed by the video official.

Fulham posed more danger following the substitutions of Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz and Adama Traoré. Pickford saved well with his feet to deny the substitute scoring with his initial involvement and denied Traoré with another important stop late on.