"You analyse the players who have played every game, there aren't many players here," Benitez said. "They'd been playing fewer players. I'm not here to criticise, but that's the reality. They'd played so many games, two a week and massive games in the Champions League, the players were getting tired. You can't give them a rest, either, because there's no time."
From Benitez's first-team squad, eight key players have featured in 10 or more of the 13 league games this season, prompting him to make the decision to rest Juan Mata against Fulham although the player was eventually used as a second-half substitute. Benitez said he may have to rest players today, although he said he could not afford to rest Fernando Torres because there was no alternative.
Benitez said he had "explained what I'd seen" to the board yesterday and laid out his strategy for the coming month, in which Chelsea have potentially 10 games, including the trip to Japan.
