Old story at a new Wembley

But Ferguson will perhaps know that a relative lack of depth in his title-winning squad has caught up with him as his dream of a second Treble season has fallen apart over the last three weeks.

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Certainly referee Bennett may have awarded United a goal — or indeed a penalty — had he had a clear view of the incident in which Ryan Giggs bundled the ball and Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech over the line midway through the second half.

What bemused most people at Wembley was that Bennett gave neither a foul against Giggs nor a goal for his team after the ball was carried over the line by Cech. Ferguson believes Giggs, running on to Wayne Rooney's pass, was tripped by Michael Essien.

He said: "I've seen a replay and to my mind it is a clear penalty kick. The referee is in a perfect position. But I think the pressure Jose Mourinho put on the referee during the week had an influence.

"It would be difficult for the linesman to see whether it was over the line, but the more important decision was the penalty. He is clearly taken from behind.

"When Jose talks about referees all the time before a game it puts them under pressure. Sometimes it works and it worked here."

It was a familiar theme from Ferguson but that will not be the lasting impression of this stifling afternoon.

What will live longer in the memory is the image of Ferguson's players physically succumbing to the rigours of a season that could have delivered so much more than the Premiership trophy they wrestled from Chelsea a fortnight ago. Ferguson has insisted all season his squad would prove big enough, but he was wrong.

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On a sapping pitch, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick looked like they were playing in treacle. And, when he looked towards his substitutes' bench, Ferguson saw nobody who could come on to win him the game.

No wonder Ferguson has begun his summer as he means to go on. No sooner had the whistle blown on his chances of a League and Cup Double than the United manager was finalising the £18million deal to sign Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich.

"We have to regroup now," he said. "We need to assess the situation. We want to be better. We needed a stronger squad in that period when we were going for the three challenges of Premiership, Champions League and FA Cup.

"We want people who are prepared to accept that we want to be better and they want to be better — and that will be my job this summer."

Ferguson will take memories of many special performances from this season. But the Scot will also remember the critical failures at Wembley and Milan.

Crucial to the manner in which United have under-performed against Chelsea and in their Champions League semi-final against AC Milan have been contributions from the likes of Ronaldo and Giggs. Ronaldo was ordinary in both games — an indication perhaps of a player of whom too much has been asked.

The Portugal winger was one of the United players suggesting on Saturday night that Mourinho had placed undue pressure on referee Bennett during the week. United have no real reason to complain about that tactic. Ferguson does it all the time.

Giggs was disappointed but sanguine. United's captain for the day believes his club have at least proved one thing this season.

He said: "It's not nice to lose, especially after we felt we played well and just edged it. I knew straight away the ball had crossed the line and you just hope the officials see it. I think Petr Cech felt he had got away with it.

"It's going to hurt for a while but we've had a good season. At the start of the season winning the League was our No 1 aim, so we can take a step back in a couple of days and appreciate that.

"I'm sure there'll be a couple of signings. The younger players are getting better and better. We've a lot to look forward to. We'll be trying to kick on next season."