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Ancelotti eyes final after Atlético are sunk

Real Madrid CF's possible semi-final opponents hold no fear for Carlo Ancelotti after his side saw off Club Atlético de Madrid who left coach Diego Simeone proud in defeat.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti congratulates goalscorer Javier Hernández
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti congratulates goalscorer Javier Hernández ©AFP/Getty Images

Carlo Ancelotti praises goalscorer Javier Hernández after 1-0 win
Madrid coach says side can compete with any potential semi-final opponent
• Atlético's Diego Simeone proud of his team's commitment in defeat
Argentinian says he has no negative feelings despite exit
• The semi-final draw takes place in Nyon from 12.00CET on Friday

Carlo Ancelotti, Madrid coach
I wanted to control the game, avoid counterattacks and maintain concentration at free-kicks. We controlled the game really well at all times. 'Chicharito' [Javier Hernández] played very well. He has had a difficult season and deserves this goal. I had the idea [of playing Sergio Ramos in midfield] to make us more comfortable at free-kicks. Ramos has the quality to play in that position. He sacrifices himself for the team and played the position very well.

It was a key game in our season. Atlético are always a strong team but we did well. The first leg gave us the confidence that we could control this match and score. We have kept our dream of playing another final alive. We are going to try to win everything. When we are firing, we are very dangerous. Every match is an exam for us. We passed this one well.

Real Madrid can compete with any other semi-finalist, no problem. We respect all three semi-finalists. They all deserve to be there. Let's see what happens in the draw. We will have time for injured players to recover and things are going to get better. Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema will have recovered soon but I cannot say when. The atmosphere was fantastic tonight and it helped us a lot. We are going to see the same atmosphere in the semi-final.

Diego Simeone, Atlético coach
I go away proud of my team. Once more we competed really well in the UEFA Champions League, which is a very difficult competition. I am sure I have a team of men, a team that work hard. At times we can play better or worse, but I am so proud of the players and of being the coach of the type of players who give what they gave today.

I think we struggled in the first ten minutes, especially in keeping the ball against the intensity they started with. After that I thought the game was much more balanced. They had much more of the ball but we covered the space very well. We were exactly where we wanted to be. In the few times we managed to hold the ball, we managed to find the full-back and Koke's presence in central midfield was very influential.

When I was a boy I was taught you have to compete in a game and when I gave everything and lost, I could go home happy. When the team work as they did today there are no negative feelings. I think a lot of coaches would envy having players that run for 90 minutes despite the difficulties in front of them. We congratulate Real because they played very well and scored a great goal.

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