Fulham manager Martin Jol has refused to blame striker Darren Bent for his side's 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday.

Bent missed a good chance in the first half at Stamford Bridge when he had only Blues goalkeeper Petr Cech to beat.

"Darren Bent is a goalscorer and anybody can miss chances," Jol told Sky Sports News. "If you saw the first 10, 15 minutes, on the right, on the left, we turned our defenders and [Ashley] Cole had problems with Damien Duff.

"We should have stepped up a gear, as they did, in the second half after 50 minutes. Today, especially in the first half, there was maybe a surprise in the air, but we couldn't do anything in the second half, and that was disappointing."

Fulham are currently third from bottom in the league table with four points from five matches.