Frank Lampard, the first Chelsea player to score in a Champions League Final, believes that the better side lost out in Moscow on Wednesday evening, but is adamant that the Blues will return stronger for the experience.
The midfielder calmly slotted home our equaliser on the stroke of half-time in the Luzhniki Stadium after Cristiano Ronaldo had given Manchester United the lead, and then converted his penalty in the shootout, only to see team-mates John Terry and Nicolas Anelka miss.
Lampard freely admitted it was a bitter pill to swallow, but backed his team-mates to recover from the disappointment.
'It's a small, small detail that loses you the game. No one can deny that after 30 minutes of the game we completely dominated,' he began.
'The best team didn't win, but let's take nothing away from Man United, they are a fantastic team and they've gone and won the Champions League, but it's very hard to take when it happens like that.'
Playing just weeks after the death of his mother Pat, Lampard was able to put the defeat into context, but was full of sympathy for his team-mates.
'I feel very emotionally drained, it's been very tough in the last couple of weeks trying to prepare for the biggest game in my life, but it's almost become not that important with things personally, I'm just disappointed for my team-mates,' he said.
'They have been fantastic to me. Everyone saw what they did for me in the Manchester United league game and I'm very fortunate to have them and I wanted to be part of a winning Champions League team but it's not to be.
'I think we dominated the game, credit to Man United, they took control of the first half an hour of the game and could have gone more than 1-0 up, but once we woke up and got playing, I don't know how many shots we had, hit the bar, hit the post, and were in the driving seat for penalties.'
Terry had the chance to seal victory for the Blues, but at the crucial moment lost his footing, and saw his spot kick clip the outside of the post and bounce clear. Having missed in a shootout while playing for England in the World Cup two years ago, Lampard could empathise with how his captain and close friend was feeling.
'John is Mr Chelsea, he is Chelsea through and through and wants this more than anyone. I just want to say that not many centre-halves will stand up and take penalties, and that's testament to his character as a man.
'At the end of the day it's a game of football - we'll be back.'
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