Saddest after-party: Miserable Dortmund stars party into the early hours in Soho

Borussia Dortmund's stars drowned their sorrows into the early hours of Sunday morning after their Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid.

Edin Terzic's side enjoyed a shock run to the showpiece event, with memorable wins against the likes of Atletico Madrid and PSG coming along the way.

Although they put in a strong performance against Real at Wembley on Saturday, they were beaten 2-0 thanks to goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Jnr as Los Blancos won a record-extending 15th Champions League title.

However, Dortmund's stars still made sure to mark their impressive achievement, which came despite a fifth place finish in the Bundesliga, but the after-party in London was full of disappointed players and staff.

According to German outlet BILD, having saluted the 25,000 travelling fans and picked up their runners-up medals at Wembley, Dortmund's players initially retreated to the dressing room where captain Emre Can gave an emotional speech.

The former Liverpool star reportedly said: 'We have grown together as a team. Nothing was expected of us. We still have to be proud of ourselves!'

Several players eventually made their way through the mixed zone at around 11:15pm, with the likes of Can, Nico Schlotterbeck and Niclas Fullkrug opening up on their sadness.

The players then began to board Dortmund's team bus just before 12am, with music superstar Jay-Z having previously caught reporters off guard when he walked past an hour before.

From there, they were transported to their five star hotel, The Landmark, where the players changed for the after-party, before they headed onto Outernet, the venue for their celebration, at around 1:18am.

Mats Hummels' girlfriend, Nicola, was said to be the star attraction of the event as she dazzled in an oversized blazer.

The bar, based in the heart of Soho, saw players such as Fullkrug, Marco Reus and Can sneak into the venue via a cellar staircase as they attempted to mark their achievement.

Julian Ryerson, who had done his best to shackle Vinicius Jnr during the game, was spotted popping out for a smoke at around 1:30am.

Several celebrities and former Dortmund players were present at the event, including Jens Lehmann, comedian Oliver Pocher, presenter Laura Wontorra and rock star Marius Muller-Westernhagen.

However, club icon Jurgen Klopp, who had been watching his former team at Wembley, wasn't in attendance.

Food was also provided at the after-party, but instead of the usual German Pott currywurst, players were offered an Indian curry, along with burgers and a British classic of fish and chips.

A major surprise at the after-party was the absence of Hans-Joachim Watzke, Dortmund's CEO.

The experienced administrator, who first joined the club in 2001, had looked shocked after the final whistle at Wembley as he struggled to come to terms with Dortmund's defeat.

BILD reported that Watzke had headed straight back to The Landmark after the game, before he decided to stay away from the after-party.

Speaking to BILD, he explained his decision as he said: 'After this painful defeat, I was just empty and wanted to be completely alone. I would hardly have been able to cheer anyone up like that.'

This meant that managing director Carsten Cramer gave a speech to players and their families, with 1,300 people present at the after-party.

His speech came at around 1:55am as he praised the achievements of the German side this season.

'What happened here in London today, turning this city black and yellow,' he said. 'The fact that we were allowed to dream for 70, 75 minutes of winning this cup is your achievement. And that deserves the applause of the entire BVB family!'

Cramer was said to order the squad to celebrate, while pictures of Dortmund's run to the final were also shown at the after-party.

Jadon Sancho, who has been revitalised since returning to Dortmund on loan in January, was the first player to leave, with the Man United loanee believed to head for the exit at around 2.26am.

The overriding sense of emotion at the event was frustration and disappointment, as several other players began to filter out, although some did remain until around 4am.

Despite the disappointment, Terzic's side will look back on a memorable run to Wembley - which came 11 years after their last defeat in the competition's final - and hope to go again next year, when the German side are expected to be in pot one for the revamped Champions League.