Mauricio Pochettino admitted the lottery of penalties provided a crumb of comfort after Tottenham missed out on a place in the Carabao Cup final to Chelsea.
Spurs had their first-leg lead overturned inside 38 minutes at Stamford Bridge but roared back in the second half as Fernando Llorente's header forced a shootout.
But Eric Dier's miss and Lucas Moura's saved spot-kick saw Spurs slip to a fifth defeat in their last six semi-final appearances in all competitions.
"I'm disappointed to lose in that way, it can happen," Pochettino said.
"We won at Wembley. They beat us here. Over 180 minutes it was 2-2. I'd prefer to lose on penalties.
"In the second half we played so well and dominated and had chances. Chelsea would have been disappointed at Wembley - that's football.
"We fought and were brave and played really well. Until we conceded the game was under control. It was one of the best games we played until that point.
"I can only feel proud given all the circumstances and can only congratulate my players, that's the way we wanted to play and show we can compete at this kind of level."
"The team was so good. I feel so proud. I'm so happy with the performance and the way we fought. After two amazing games I praise my players."
Six months on from scoring England's winning penalty in their World Cup last-16 shootout win over Colombia, there were contrasting emotions for Spurs midfielder Dier, as his miss handed Chelsea the initiative in the shootout.
Pochettino had no issues with Dier's effort, though, adding: "To miss is not a problem.
"Sometimes you score, sometimes you miss, that's the history of football. I cannot complain, I can only be proud of the players taking the penalty."