Two years ago Luis Garcia's disputed goal robbed the English champions of a place in the final as Liverpool went on to win the European crown with a penalty shoot-out victory against AC Milan.

Chelsea again lost 1-0 at Anfield in the second leg of a semi-final thanks to a first-half goal from Daniel Agger but this time the aggregate scores stood at 1-1 and after a blank extra-time period, the match went to penalties.

Robben, who was back in the squad for the first time in weeks following knee surgery, made his comeback as a 98th-minute substitute but bravely elected to take the first spot-kick for the Blues.

However, the Dutchman's kick was superbly saved by Jose Reina and it left Chelsea with a mountain to climb. They eventually lost 4-1 after Geremi missed and Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt fired the winning penalty.

But the Chelsea coach refused to criticise the Dutch winger and insisted on commending him for his courageous attitude in shouldering the responsibility of their first penalty in such a hostile atmosphere.

Mourinho said: "Robben was a brave boy. He wanted very much to come and help because he knows the team is in a difficult moment with so many injuries.

"He was not absolutely ready but he was saying 'I want to help'. I played him to try, with his speed and sharpness, to bring something to the game in extra-time. We tried to score the winning goal and after that it went to penalties.

"He is a good penalty taker. He was confident to take it and again he was brave to have the responsibility and go. He missed - that's life.

"We didn't want it to go to penalties. On penalties, a team wins or loses, why? Luck? A bad penalty taker? A goalkeeper more adapted to saving penalties? In the end, they scored more penalties than us."

Although they already have the Carling Cup in the bank, Mourinho's dream of a quadruple is now in tatters with just the FA Cup to play for against Manchester United at the new Wembley on May 19.

Any hopes of snatching the Premiership crown appear to have slipped from their grasp following their failure to beat Bolton last Saturday and United will clinch the title if they beat Manchester City and Chelsea lose to Arsenal on Sunday.

But Mourinho had nothing but pride for a squad of players that has battled to overcome almost insurmountable odds for much of the season.

Injuries to key players like Petr Cech, John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Ballack and Robben, have hampered Chelsea's bid for a third straight Premiership success.

Mourinho added: "I did not say many words to the players afterwards. I am proud of them and share the difficult moment with them.

"From minute 30 in the first half Chelsea were trying to win and to score over the 90 minutes. In extra-time again Chelsea was stronger, faster and incredibly fresher.

"Daniel Agger lost his marker for the goal but somebody tells me that Salomon Kalou was blocked by an opponent. I am proud of them all."

One of the key players unable to play because of injury was Andriy Shevchenko, who travelled to Anfield to watch the game from the stands.

The Ukrainian striker had been at the centre of controversy on Tuesday when he did not travel to Merseyside with the rest of the squad - prompting suggestions of a rift between manager and club.

That was swiftly denied by Chelsea and Shevchenko showed his support for his team-mates by making the journey to Merseyside on his own.

But he was left devastated after watching the agonising penalty drama end in Liverpool's favour.

Shevchenko said: "It was a great opportunity and I am really sad - the team played very well with good heart. But penalties are a lottery.

"Both teams had chances to win the game during the 120 minutes. The decision was made on Sunday that I couldn't play after the doctor spoke with the manager and with the club.

"It has been a very difficult time for me with the injuries. It just happened to me before this very important game and I really wanted to be available to play in it. But my injury didn't allow that.

"I had a scan on Tuesday morning and we will see in the next couple of days with the doctor. The squad has been great all season and it still is. But this game was decided by the lottery of penalties. It is now important the team keeps trying and going forward to achieve things."