Atletico Madrid goal scorer Antoine Griezmann said the "better team had gone through" after his side's dramatic progress on away goals past Bayern Munich to the 2016 Champions League final.
Atletico went to Munich with a 1-0 lead from last week's first leg, but Bayern soon evened things up when Xabi Alonso's free kick was deflected past visiting goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
A lightning counter-attack brought a vital away goal from Griezmann for Atletico, and even though Robert Lewandowski headed the teams level on aggregate late on, Diego Simeone's side held on to progress to the final against either Real Madrid or Manchester City in Milan on May 28.
Speaking to Spanish TV channel Antena 3 after the final whistle, the France international admitted that Bayern had the better of the second leg, but said that his team's away goal had been crucial.
"The best team goes through," Griezmann said. "They might have been better [tonight]. But we were better in the first leg. And we scored here tonight. The team who played best went through."
In a dramatic game which also saw each side miss a penalty as Jan Oblak and Manuel Neuer saved from Thomas Muller and Fernando Torres respectively, Atletico defended for long spells and Bayern had 33 efforts of goal compared to just seven from the visitors.
"It was a difficult game against a tough opponent," Griezmann said. "We had to defend and try and score a goal. And we did that."
Atletico now return to domestic action, where with just two games remaining they are joint-top on points with Barcelona, if behind the Catalans on head-to-head record.
"We must keep our feet on the ground, focus on La Liga now," Griezmann said. "We will have time then to think about the Champions League final."
Torres also spoke on Spanish TV after the game and admitted he and his team had "suffered" to get the result they wanted.
"It was a game to suffer a lot, we were up against a great team who dominated for much of the game," Torres said. "But we battled as always, and in the end it was worth it. In the first half, we did not manage to press them well up front, as we wanted, to stop them bringing the ball out.
"They could push us back and had a lot of chances in the first half. But that changed at break, we had to push more, and in one of those moves, Griezmann scored. Then they pushed us back again."
Torres said it had been a pity he had not been able to secure a calmer end to the game by converting the penalty he had won himself.
"It would have been the end of the game -- there would have been no more time for them if it had gone in," he said. "But we were able to hang on."
With many in Spain now hoping for an all-La Liga final, the boyhood Atletico fan said he did not have a preference for Madrid or City in the decider.
"We have had a very tough path through, against the best teams in Europe," he said. "Now we have one more game, the most important, and have the chance to do something no group of players at this club. We can make history, it is in our hands now. This team is ready to take on whomever -- we hope the best team wins tomorrow."