Wednesday 4 May 2016 14:06, UK
Diego Simeone hailed Atletico Madrid's "unbelievable" achievement after they beat Bayern Munich on away goals to reach the Champions League final on Tuesday.
Atletico, who lost to city rival Real Madrid in the 2014 final, progressed on the away goals rule with an aggregate score of 2-2 after winning the first leg of their semi-final in Madrid 1-0.
Xabi Alonso gave Bayern a first-half lead but Antoine Griezmann's crucial strike after the break ensured Robert Lewandowski's late header was not enough for the hosts, and after the game Simeone praised another strong defensive display from his side.
"I really have to say we played against the best team I have faced in my whole career. It was unbelievable how they played," said Simeone. "It's unbelievable what we have achieved.
"It was great to see my team play with such intensity. When Bayern missed their penalty, we had a good chat in the half-time break and we coped with the pressure they put on us in the second half.
"We achieved our goal, we have seen that we are a very strong team, but we were really good defensively."
Simeone also singled out Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak and Bayern's Manuel Neuer for their penalty saves to deny Thomas Muller and Fernando Torres respectively.
"They were two great saves by the goalies, I have to say how difficult it is to cope with this situation at Bayern, playing away from home," he continued.
The Atleti manager, whose side defeated Barcelona in the quarter-finals, added: "We have played against two of the three best teams in Europe. We've knocked them out, and I'm very proud of that."
Real Madrid face Manchester City at the Bernabeu in the other semi-final with their tie poised at 0-0, meaning a Real victory would set up a repeat of the 2014 final.
But Torres insisted his side would not be out for revenge, adding: "We want to write history. We have not won this trophy and we do not care who it will be, whether Real or Manchester City.
"It was not about revenge for 1974 tonight nor is the final about revenge. It is a new chance and maybe we can write some memories."
Griezmann added: "They were better, but we scored an away goal, which was important. We need to keep grounded and first of all think of La Liga before the final.
"We're delighted. It was difficult, a really hard game, we had a great opponent in front of us and we had to both defend and try to score. That's what we did."
