Football
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Cristiano Ronaldo says Real Madrid 'more intense' than Manchester City

Cristiano Ronaldo does not believe Real Madrid were lucky to advance past Manchester City to the Champions League final, with the Portuguese striker saying his team were more intense than their opponents over the two legs.

Real beat Man City 1-0 on Wednesday night to secure passage to the final by the same scoreline on aggregate, after a Gareth Bale strike was deflected into Joe Hart's net to giveĀ Los BlancosĀ the only goal they needed.

"It was a tough game, but I think we played better than City," Ronaldo said. "We created more chances and were more intense.

"We knew that after the goal, City would press high on us, but we controlled the game. One-nil was a short result, but we are happy we are in the final.''

The Portugal forward felt no issues following his recent injury lay-off, which had put his availability for manager Zinedine Zidane in doubt for the second leg after having missed the first leg in Manchester.

"I am good,'' he said. "For 15 days, I didn't do much, and I have played today. People had doubts about me, I don't know why people forget that sometimes I recover fast.

"I am happy with no problems. I was tired because I did not compete for 15 days, but it was not bad and I think I helped the team.''

The win means the Champions League final will be a rematch of the 2014 edition against cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid who beat Bayern Munich in the other semifinal.

"It will be tough, in a final you never know what's going to happen, it is 50-50," he said. "We are going to play against Atletico Madrid and I am happy because it will be special in the Champions League final.

"The fact we're from the same league shows the quality of our domestic competition."

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