Chelsea interim boss Rafael Benitez said he left Juan Mata out of his starting line-up against Fulham in order to keep him fresh during a busy period for the Blues.
The Spanish playmaker and John Mikel Obi were dropped to the bench, with Oriol Romeu and Ryan Bertrand starting.
“We have too many games, so the idea is to manage the squad and use the players we have,” Benitez explained after the 0-0 draw.
“We play again at West Ham on Saturday and then we are going to Japan [for the World Club Cup], so we have to manage it.”
More reaction to follow.
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This post was last modified on 28/11/2012