Chelsea ace Frank Lampard says winning the Champions League final was the best night of his career.

Lampard has been part of the previous eight failed attempts to win the Champions League at Chelsea.

He said: "It's the best footballing night of my life - the hour we spent on the pitch with the fans afterwards.

"I've been here 11 years and I've been waiting for this baby for a long time. I'm pleased we haven't won it before, because it feels even more special.

"That might sound stupid but, to wait so long and to do it the way we did with the season we've had, the spirit in the team - amazing."

Lampard admitted he thought Chelsea's luck had run out when they fell behind in the final - but had no doubts they would win the penalty shootout.

"I admit when we were trailing 1-0 with about a minute left, I wasn't so sure," said Lampard, part of the side beaten on penalties in Moscow in the 2008 final.

"Once it went to penalties, I thought there was no way we were going to lose. I thought, 'We are going to win this'.

"It wasn't going to be a repeat of Moscow, we couldn't have stood that again."