Mourinho believes Blues were best

The Londoners were beaten 4-1 on spot-kicks after Liverpool cancelled out Chelsea's 1-0 first-leg lead.

"It is a moment when everybody has to be strong," he said. "My players have a lot of reasons to be proud.

"We were the best team today, even against a team only playing for the Champions League."

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He added: "In extra-time we were the only team who tried to win, but football is like that and the penalty shoot-out is part of the game.

"My players did a great run in the Champions League."

Mourinho also denied that his pre-match spat with Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez helped inspire Liverpool to victory.

He added: "I respected Liverpool always in my words. I don't need to say more and today I think the best team was Chelsea."

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