Fulham boss Felix Magath has defended his decision to omit Lewis Holtby from his team for defeat to Chelsea.
Holtby was named on the bench at Craven Cottage despite being Fulham's best player since joining on loan from Tottenham.
Magath, who instead started Clint Dempsey, said: "We played against the Premier League leaders and we had to fight because they have better players. You have to prepare for a game where Chelsea will have control over the ball. Lewis is a player who is forward thinking, who is very skilful and can make good passes.
"Against Chelsea, you will not create many chances, nobody will. We fought very well in the first half it worked as I expected it."
