Bayer Leverkusen's stunning unbeaten season run ended in the 52nd and penultimate match of the campaign, and they readily admitted they were only second best in the Europa League final against Atalanta.
Xabi Alonso's men were surprisingly toothless as they found no answer to Gian Luigi Gasperini's high pressing side who triumphed 3-0 from Ademola Lookman's hat-trick in Dublin on Wednesday.
Leverkusen were a far cry from the form that had made them the first Bundesliga champions without defeat last weekend, and were well aware what had been missing.
"We have to congratulate Atalanta, they deserved it. The attitude was good but we have problems in one on one situations and couldn't find the final pass. It wasn't a good game and we lost," coach Xabi Alonso told broadcasters RTL.
"We wanted to change our mindset after the break," he added before conceding: "It wasn't our day, we have to accept it."
Midfielder Robert Andrich said: "It is extremely bitter. Atalanta did what they always do, press all over the pitch, and they won the decisive duels.
"We have to be honest it was deserved. It wasn't enough today. I think we had phases in the game where we were better, but we didn't create any real scoring opportunities. If you concede three goals and don't score any, you deserve to lose."
Midfielder Granit Xhaka was no factor, starlet Florian Wirtz also failed to create danger, and once Lookman hit smashed home for a third time in the 75th it was also clear there would be not another famous late Leverkusen comeback.
"It's a shame it didn't work out in the final. We looked so good up until this game and the fact that we didn't manage to do what we usually do so well in the final is a part of the game. We have to accept that," Xhaka said.
The Swiss added it that "we're not interested in the unbeaten record. We didn't care about that from the start. It's about the game and unfortunately we lost a final today. That's football."
Leverkusen failed to earn a second continental trophy, following 1988 success in the same event, then named UEFA Cup, as they lost like in the 2002 Champions League final against Real Madrid.
But they can still end the season on a high and brighten the mood for Sunday's planned big celebration at home, by winning the German Cup final on Saturday in Berlin where they are big favourites against second division Kaiserslautern.
"Berlin, we are going to Berlin," Leverkusen fans chanted in the Dublin Arena as a sign of encouragement, and captain Jonathan Tah said that "we have to keep going.
"We still have a very, very important game ahead of us. Even if it hurts right now, you have to allow the pain. We move on from tomorrow," he said.
Alonso said that "we must now use this pain in a positive way" to be successful in the last game.
"It's quite exceptional what we have achieved and we have to be proud. We will learn. It's going to be a challenge, how we respond to defeat and deal with the pain," Alonso said.