'I can't believe it; a dream broke down in seconds'

Ivica Olić and Jérôme Boateng agreed the UEFA Champions League had slipped from FC Bayern München's grasp as the German side succumbed to a penalty shoot-out defeat by Chelsea FC.

The Munich club looked on course for a fifth title when Thomas Müller finally broke the English club's resistance seven minutes from the end, but Didier Drogba's equaliser forced extra time. Bayern soon had the chance to regain the lead when Franck Ribéry won a spot kick but Arjen Robben was denied by Petr Čech, and the final moved inexorably to a penalty shoot-out. Even there Bayern gained the upper hand when Manuel Neuer saved Chelsea's first effort from Juan Mata, but Čech kept out Olić and then Bastian Schweinsteiger, leaving Drogba to seal their fate.

"Of course it's a terrible feeling, but on balance we controlled it," Olić said after his last game for the club before his summer move to VfL Wolfsburg. "We had chances and should have won before penalties; but that's football. A penalty shoot-out is always about luck. Tonight we didn't have our full concentration and Chelsea won it in the end. It doesn't matter if they deserved it or not. They did it, and I have to congratulate them."

Bayern are no strangers to final disappointments having gone down to FC Internazionale Milano in the 2010 showpiece in Madrid, although this proved considerably harder to bear. "Then we lost but we were not the better team," Olić added. "Tonight we had many more chances, a lot more control of the game and we were playing at home. That hurts more than two years ago."

Much was made of Chelsea's spirit in recovering from going behind late on, and Olić acknowledged the new champions' remarkable desire. "They fought hard, at 1-0 down they threw everything up front and got a goal from a corner – a pity really," he explained. "We only had two minutes left and Chelsea hadn't had any opportunities until then – then a corner and a goal. We were very unlucky today, but we have to congratulate Chelsea."

Bayern were moments away from becoming the first team to lift the UEFA Champions League in their own ground, and Boateng admitted having that snatched away was a bitter pill to swallow. "We are all very disappointed, down in the dumps. What can I say? We lost, but were clearly the better team. I just can't believe it. A dream broke down within seconds. We always had the advantage, we were leading 1-0, had a penalty and were leading in the penalty shoot-out. But that's how football can be."