League Cup holders Chelsea lost their unbeaten home record under Jose Mourinho in a third round tie against Charlton Athletic but their Portuguese manager believes the run remains intact.
The match on Wednesday was decided in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time with Charlton winning 5-4.
Chelsea's German defender Robert Huth was the only player to fail from the spot having earlier gifted Charlton an equaliser.
"We didn't lose the game," Mourinho told ITV Sport. "Their goal was a big mistake but the boy (Huth) is a very good player and I trust him. He will have to learn from his mistakes."
"We were the better team. We had the best chances in 90 minutes and extra time, but they were lucky, defended well and fought a lot. I've got no complaints with my players."
The defeat ended Mourinho's unblemished record at Stamford Bridge after 15 months and 37 games and the fact that the loss came by the narrowest of margins will be no consolation to a manager who took great pride in seeing his team lift the trophy last season.
"Football is a game played by humans, and humans make mistakes," Mourinho said of Huth's penalty miss on Chelsea's website on Thursday.
As Charlton celebrated a famous win over the Premier League champions, Chelsea were left to reflect on losing their grip on Mourinho's first major trophy at the club and the end of their winning league sequence this season after last weekend's 1-1 draw at Everton.
Chelsea's bid to surpass Tottenham Hotspur's record of 11 straight victories at the start of a top flight campaign, achieved in 1960-61, foundered when Didier Drogba's goal at Goodison Park on Sunday was ruled offside.
SEVEN CHANGES
Chelsea made seven changes on Wednesday to the team that drew at Everton but while Mourinho said they had missed some players, he was satisfied his team played well against a strong Charlton defence.
"We know out of the four competitions it is the one with less importance if you can say that," he said. "But it wasn't because of that we lost. We respect the competition. We won it last year and we wanted to win it again this year.
"I made the changes I did because I felt some of the boys needed to play and some of the others deserved a rest."
England central defender John Terry put the home side in ahead five minutes before halftime with a powerful header but with a minute of stoppage time left Huth tried to head a bouncing ball back to goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini. It fell short and Charlton striker Darren Bent fired home the equaliser.
Charlton manager Alan Curbishley, whose team enjoyed their first ever cup victory over Chelsea, said: "Chelsea are a fantastic team, but they are only human".
The chasing pack in the Premier League, led by Charlton who are nine points behind the champions, will hope those human failings are repeated in the title race.
Chelsea welcome Blackburn Rovers to Stamford Bridge on Saturday and Mourinho said some of his players could be feeling the effects of their exertions against Charlton.
"...Some players will be in a difficult situation," he said. "Blackburn have had an extra day and they only played for 90 minutes (in beating Leeds United on Tuesday). (But) I think we can play with a good team with plenty of energy on Saturday".
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