Cristiano Ronaldo claimed Real Madrid were the rightful winners in their cagey Champions League semi-final win over Manchester City.
But the Portugal superstar failed to credit team-mate Gareth Bale for his role in Real’s winner.
The former Spurs star shot beat Joe Hart after deflecting off of midfielder Fernando.
Yet Ronaldo gave credit to himself and Luka Modric after the game.
He told BT Sport: “It was a tough game. I think we played better than City, we created more chances in the first half and the second half, we were more intense.
“We knew after we scored that City would press high. I think we controlled the game and we are happy we’re in the final.
“It was tough, we created chances. Modric, myself, in this kind of game we had to kill it. But in the end one goal was enough.”
Neither side were at their free-flowing best at the Bernabeu, but a first- half own-goal from Fernando proved to be enough to send the 10-time winners into another final.
City couldn’t manage a single shot on target in 90 minutes and Ronaldo believes the better team went through on the night.
The build-up to the match was dominated by Ronaldo and his bid to recover in time from a hamstring injury to feature in the match.
He claimed he was always confident he would be fully fit to take to the field.
Ronaldo added: “It was good, 15 days and I didn’t do much and I played today. People doubted me, I don’t know why. People forget that sometimes I recover fast.”
Next up for Ronaldo and co is a repeat of the 2014 final against Atletico Madrid, which Los Blancos won 4-1 after extra-time.
Diego Simeone’s side have knocked out Barcelona and Bayern Munich en route to this year’s final and Ronaldo is aware of the challenge they will pose.
He said: “It will be a tough match. It’s a final so you never know. I’m happy, it will be special.”
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