Fulham boss Martin Jol has expressed his relief that his risk of fielding an attacking lineup paid off in his side's 1-0 win over 10-man Queens Park Rangers.
Debutant Samba Diakite was sent off in the first half for QPR, but Jol believes that that didn't make the game any easier for his side.
"[The attacking formation] was a risk, but I've put Dembele in the centre over the past couple of weeks and he's done well. You need some creativity in midfield when you go away from home, and he brings us that," Jol told Sky Sports News.
"I was very pleased especially with the first 20 minutes. They wanted to take the game to us, they were really up for it, but we played some excellent football.
"It's not easy to play against 10 men because we played with four at the back against their two strikers and Taarabt was in the hole, so sometimes it looked as though they had 11 as well.
The result puts Fulham in 11th in the Premier League table, while QPR drop down to 17th, level on points with 18th-place Blackburn Rovers, having played a game more.
Barney Corkhill
