Bayer Leverkusen have little time to lick their wounds after their dream of a title treble and a historic unbeaten season went up in smoke.
Leverkusen must quickly turn their attention to Saturday's German Cup final in Berlin against second division Kaiserslautern right after Wednesday's painful 3-0 battering by Italy's Atalanta in the Europa League final.
Coach Xabi Alonso said that "we must now use this pain in a positive way" to be successful in the final game of a remarkable campaign.
"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.
Captain Jonathan Tah said post-match: "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."
Leverkusen were for once comprehensively outplayed in Dublin by a classy Atalanta side which won from Ademola Lookman's hat-trick.
Leverkusen to learn from defeat
Defeat came after they had gone unbeaten in all of their previous 51 season games and won a maiden Bundesliga title as the first team to go unbeaten through a season in the German top flight.
An unbeaten domestic double is still possible, and Alonso said that they will learn from Wednesday's unexpected meltdown.
"All of us didn't have their best performance. Everyone, including myself," the Spaniard said. "We will learn a lot from this defeat. And first and foremost I will."
Alonso may have chosen wrong tactics and players for once, with the decision to bench midfielder Robert Andrich for almost 70 minutes among the issued questioned post-match.
Title would have outweighed unbeaten run
Forward Jonas Hofmann was among player who said they would have preferred to lose a less important game to end their unbeaten run.
"It was clear to all of us that the streak would be snapped at some stage. But we would have preferred to have lost a game in the Bundesliga," Hofmann said.
Alonso agreed, saying: "It is not so easy to forget defeats in finals."
The match against big underdogs Kaiserslautern gives them a chance to end the season on a high, with a big celebration planned for Sunday when they return home.
Wide-ranging praise despite defeat
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz led the way as Leverkusen were told they could look back with immense pride at a sensational season despite the setback.
"Even if it wasn't enough to win tonight: Congratulations on this unbeatable season, dear Werkself!" Scholz said on X, formerly Twitter.
German men's national team director Rudi Völler, who spent 25 years in Leverkusen as a player and official, said: "This result does not change the fact that Bayer Leverkusen have written a great story and impressed Germany and Europe.
"The players, the coach and the team have made football Germany proud," Völler said.
