Japan winger Kaoru Mitoma and his Brighton teammates could not find a breakthrough as they lost to Manchester United 7-6 in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 stalemate at Wembley Stadium in Sunday's FA Cup semifinal.
Mitoma provided spark down the left wing and was involved in Brighton's best chances, but the match remained goalless after 120 minutes. Their seventh penalty taker Solly March blasted over the bar before Victor Lindelof buried his spot kick to seal the win for United.
"I wanted to get to the final," said Mitoma, revealing he would likely have been Brighton's ninth penalty taker had the shootout gone on.
Alexis Mac Allister's early free-kick was denied by David De Gea after Mitoma was brought down at the edge of the box, while a blocked effort from the Japan international in the 56th minute fell to Julio Enciso, whose fierce effort was again denied by the Spanish keeper.
Mitoma, booked for his challenge on Casemiro in second-half stoppage time, came close to scoring himself following a marauding run into the box in the 113th minute. But he was let down by his final touch, allowing the keeper to clear the ball.
"I want to go back to that scene again," said Mitoma, who was not quite at his mesmerizing best with his touches on the day.
"We were doing relatively well as a team, but I had chances that I could have put away, and there are lots of things to reflect on."
In Germany, Ritsu Doan set up Michael Gregoritsch's seventh-minute opener as Freiburg eased past Schalke 4-0 at home in the German Bundesliga to move up to fourth as they chase a spot in next season's Champions League.
Ayase Ueda scored his 18th goal of the season in the Belgian top flight as Cercle Brugge edged past Zurte Waregem 3-2 away from home.
