Henk Ten Cate says last night's dramatic penalty shoot-out defeat was hard to take after claiming Chelsea were the better team.

"We were devastated to lose it like that," said the assistant Blues coach. "I thought in the second half and extra-time we were the better side.

"We had some good chances and were very unlucky. We hit the post and the crossbar but penalties is a lottery and we got the short straw."

The Dutchman, who joined the club as Avram Grant's No2 shortly after the Israeli replaced Jose Mourinho as manager in September, paid tribute to the team.

He said: "The players have done a fantastic job this year.

"To come so far and be better over the 120 minutes against Manchester Unitedmeans that everyone at Chelsea can be proud."