Ilkay Gundogan says Chelsea's German stars have gained a "massive" confidence boost from their Champions League title.
Kai Havetz secured Chelsea's second-ever Champions League title, latching onto Mason Mount's through ball before rounding goalkeeper Ederson and slotting home what turned out to be the winning goal as the Blues beat Manchester City in Porto.
Gundogan was on the losing team that night in Porto, and he admits the defeat was hard to take on a personal level and for his teammates, who won the Premier League title this season.
“It’s not easy to stomach a defeat like this,” he said during his Germany press conference on Thursday.
“We worked all year to get there – eight years for me. I lost the final again, and I’m extremely gutted about that.
“But life goes on, that’s the beauty of competitive sport. I had a few days off, which I needed I made good use of them.
“Now I’m focusing on the tasks at hand and I can look forward to the tournament, despite defeat in the final.”
The defeat may be made worse by the fact he has to share a national team with a number of players who were on the winning side in Porto across this summer at Euro 2020.
Antonio Rudiger, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner are all in the Germany squad this summer, and Gundogan says they have gained a lot of confidence from their European success.
“The Champions League win gives players a boost, gives them confidence,” he added.
“Especially Kai, who scored the winner, has been given a massive [confidence] boost, which we can use to help us as a team.
“I’m happy for them, they deserved it.”
