Some defeats hurt more than others.
Back in 2018, when Liverpool first suffered Champion League heartbreak against Real Madrid, Reds fans could take the loss on the chin.
Indeed, Jurgen Klopp had led his swashbuckling side to the pinnacle of European football at the first time of asking and, despite the painful nature of how the 90 minutes played out, there was an overriding feeling of positivity in the Anfield air.
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Add in a welcoming experience in the city of Kyiv - a far cry from what greeted fans in the French capital on Saturday night - and supporters headed back to Merseyside hurt but ready to try again.
The club’s manager summed the mood up best when, after a few beers at home, he sang with friends that Liverpool would return to that stage once more.
The Reds were back as a force to be reckoned with and so it proved in the years that followed.
And so to last night. The 63rd match in an exhausting season that left bodies, minds and bank accounts exhausted.
Liverpool, many felt, had come a long way since 2018 and were ready to face Madrid as favourites in Paris. And rightly so.
But, as in 2018, Madrid had all the f***ing luck.
Liverpool dominated the shot count, attacking in red waves early on, only to find Thibaut Courtois with a point to prove at the peak of his powers.
And when Vinicius Junior scored on the counter attack, Real Madrid's victory seemed inevitable.
Cruel? Yes. But the margins are fine at the highest level and the difference between winning and losing can be minimal.
It's why Michael Owen's claim that Liverpool were still the best team in Europe, despite losing to Real, isn't necessarily wrong.
Let's face it, had Liverpool won, would that make them a better team than Man City? And were the 2005 side the best Europe had to offer?
But in the banter era of football, there's no room for nuance.
Just look to the amount of social accounts dismissing Liverpool as failing to score in all three major finals they reached this season. Two of which were won.
And what about the rival fans quickly poking fun at the Reds for holding a victory parade for the two trophies they lifted earlier this campaign?
Let them mock. Because Kopites however disappointed they are with how the final week of the season has unfolded, know better.
The thousands that lined the city streets should tell the players everything they need to know about the respect and love fans have for their efforts.
They know that a disappointing seven days does not cancel out all that came before it.
Because real supporters are aware that it's as much about the journey as the destination.
Sixty three games played in an epic season that has taken the travelling Kop everywhere from Wembley to Milan, Madrid and Paris.
There have been Old Trafford thrashings, wondergoals to celebrate and derby triumphs. Memories made that will last a lifetime.
Jurgen Klopp and his players have given their supporters exactly what football fans wish for at the outset of each and every season.
Sure, there are disappointments along the way. There will be more to come. It's part of competing for honours and you can't win them all.
It was probably summed up best by Liverpool legend John Aldridge, a braver man than most when it comes to Twitter.
"It’s better to have loved than never at all," he tweeted. "50 Trophies and counting."
Quite.
Let them mock. For now Liverpool will celebrate the trophies they did win. And then they will be back again.
And their rivals probably already know it.
