Mark Hughes slams 'incredibly fortunate' Liverpool after semi-final shootout

The successful penalty shootout was a fortunate end to an uncomfortable evening for the hosts at Anfield, who were under pressure for much of the encounter which ended 1-0 to Stoke City after extra time.

For Stoke manager Mark Hughes, there was little consolation to be had other than his side's positive performance.

"I thought we merited a win," he said. "We got a win on paper -- goodness knows how long it's been since we won here -- but the objective was to get to a Wembley final which we didn't."

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"I think the reaction of us all is pure disappointment because on the night we were by far the better team," Hughes told Stoke's website.

"We came here, under difficult circumstances whereby we had to win the game, and won it.

"Obviously once it goes to penalties it can go either way and heartbreakingly for us it has gone their way.

"You can see by the reaction of their fans and their players that they have been incredibly fortunate to progress to the final.

"These sort of things happen in sport and football unfortunately, but that still doesn't make it any easier to take."

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, however, had no such mixed feelings.

"It was great, the atmosphere was special," the German told Sky Sports. "It was a good game for my side against a difficult side to play...

"Wembley is a cool place to play football, but we go there to win. It's not much fun to lose."

Liverpool will face either Everton or Manchester City in the final on Feb. 28, with Roberto Martinez's side holding a 2-1 lead heading into Wednesday's second leg.