Keeper Cech laments penalty KO
Petr Cech admits Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League defeat to Liverpool on penalties was one of the most disappointing moments of his career.
Liverpool beat Chelsea 1-0 on the night before winning the shoot-out 4-1, dumping The Blues out of the competition at the semi-final stage for the second time in three seasons, and Cech believes luck was not on Chelsea's side.
"It took 120 minutes and there is still a lot of emotion and stress inside me, so I am very tired," he told CTK. "I have not slept much. I am hugely disappointed.
"We were very close to getting through. We had been on a long and difficult route to the semi-final, but we managed to get there.
"But there, we did not have enough luck. It is one of the biggest disappointments of my career."
Cech has featured in three important penalty shoot-outs in his career, and has been victorious each time.
In 2002, he helped the Czech Republic Under 21 side to win the European Championship gold medal and then twice won out with Rennes in the French Cup, but the Chelsea keeper feels that fortune abandoned him this time.
"In every shoot-out, I have managed to save at least two penalties and win them. I am sorry that this time luck left me. It is a most unpleasant situation."
Daniel Agger's goal came after Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt blocked the movement of Salomon Kalou from a free-kick, and Cech is frustrated by the way the goal came about.
"We were preparing ourselves for this sort of situation. The decisive moment was when Kuyt blocked Kalou - on TV it even seemed like a foul.
"Therefore, Agger remained there alone and that is hard to defend. I saw the ball very late."
Ahead of the game, there was a lot of talk about the importance of the atmosphere at Anfield but, while those comments appear to be justified following Liverpool's victory, Cech claims his team-mates were unaffected.
"Looking at the way we played, the atmosphere did not get us down. We managed to keep the ball, tried to play short passes and did not rely on defending.
"We conceded only from the set piece."
Despite the disappointment, Cech believes the team will become stronger for the defeat and maintains they will continue to push for domestic honours.
"The season is going on, life is going on. Everybody must cope with it on his own. Once the sadness goes away, we will be even stronger.
"There is no option other than to win our remaining three games and to hope that Manchester United lose points at City or West Ham.
"At this moment, the FA Cup final on 19th May is the important game."
