Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo believes his side's semifinal second leg performance proved they are better than Borussia Dortmund, while Xabi Alonso was proud of the team's efforts after falling a goal short of advancing to the final of the Champions League.
Real missed several opportunities in the first half, before two late goals from Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos left the home side needing one more goal to progress at the Bernabeu. However, the third goal just did not materialize, with Dortmund going through 4-3 on aggregate.
"We scored late. There were five minutes of added time but we couldn't turn it around," Ronaldo was quoted as saying by the club's official website. "I think the first match was key because four goals are a lot in the Champions League, but the team were focused on trying to reach the final.
"We scored two goals but we could have had four or five, (Gonzalo) Higuain, (Mesut) Ozil and I had chances in the first half. We showed that we are better than them.
"We're a bit sad because we thought we could have been in the final."
Ronaldo said Real would be back next year to try and win the ever-elusive Decima - their tenth European Cup.
"I felt good and didn't encounter any problems. I could have done better and scored a goal but I will not explain why that wasn't the case," Ronaldo added. "I always try to give my best in games.
"We could've been in the final, we showed we are a big team and that we will have more opportunities to win the Decima.
"Next year we will fight for it. We're sad, we are left to rue the final step and that's difficult to take, but (Dortmund) should be congratulated because (they) scored more goals than us."
Alonso felt Ronaldo should not be singled out for criticism, with the entire squad to blame for the defeat.
"There is no need to focus on Cristiano, everyone up front had chances," he said. "Ronaldo has been key for us this season and scored lots of goals. We are very happy with him and it was a shame that he didn't score."
The Real midfielder was disappointed to miss out on yet another final - Real have now crashed out of the semifinals for three straight years -- after coming agonizingly close to completing a stunning comeback.
"We came back with very big a burden from Germany," the former Liverpool player added. "We weren't clinical in the first half, which could have changed the course of the match. We should be proud, we tried to the end. They are mistakes that we want to correct in the future because we want to get to a final.
"We are sad because it could have been a nice night, but at the same time we are happy with the hard work that the team did, that the club did and for the support of the fans who were with us all the way despite the bad result in the first left. We're disappointed to not have done it but we were very close."
