Ronaldo lauds Real’s experience after entering final despite loss to Atletico

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Portuguese credits Los Blancos’ immense European stature for performance against Atletico

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo credited his team’s greater experience as the killer difference in the Champions League semifinal success over Atletico Madrid.

Up against a baying Vicente Calderon crowd and a battlehardened Atletico , Real could not produce the same dominant display as in their 3-0 win in the first leg but reached another Champions League final on Wednesday.

Goals from Saul Niguez and an Antoine Griezmann penalty inside 16 minutes gave Atletico tangible hope but Real could not be intimidated.

The 11-times European champions, who were playing in their seventh consecutive semi-final and targetting a 15th final berth, waited for Atletico to run out of steam and Isco delivered a knockout blow before half-time to make it 2-1, putting them 4-2 up on aggregate.

“We knew Atleti were going to start well and they had a bit of luck in scoring the two goals, but we knew that if we scored it would kill them,” Cristiano Ronaldo told reporters.

“We’re Real Madrid and we showed that we have more experience,” added the prolific Portuguese, whose hat-trick at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg had given Real a huge advantage in the tie.

Real have had a bruising path to the final to face Juventus in Cardiff on June 3, knocking out Napoli and Bayern Munich as well as Atletico.

Their talent-packed squad has allowed coach Zinedine Zidane to pick different starting line-ups from one week to the next. “We have a great squad, it’s very complete, and we show that in every game,” added Ronaldo, who drew a blank in the second leg after scoring eight times in the previous three Champions League games. “No-one said it was going to be easy,” said captain Sergio Ramos. The French manager