Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone preferred to concentrate on the positives following his side's painful Champions League exit to arch-rivals Real and believes it has only made them stronger.
Atletico, who were seconds away from beating Real in last season's final only to lose 4-1 after extra-time, suffered more late agony on Wednesday night as Javier Hernandez's 88th-minute goal at the Bernabeu sent Real through to the semi-finals.
Despite the manner of the exit, an upbeat Simeone said on his club's official website: "I don't leave the competition with a negative feeling. On the contrary, I am proud of my players that always compete and give everything.
"I am happy to have a team like the one I have.
"Once again we competed at a high level in a strong competition like the Champions League.
"We are among the top eight teams in Europe which is not easy. We came away stronger.
"If my players give their all as they did against Real and they have done in the past, I tell Atletico fans that they should feel happy and proud of the group we have."
Atletico had gone into Wednesday's encounter having held Real to a goalless draw in last week's opening leg at the Vicente Calderon stadium.
The Rojiblancos had previously avoided defeat against Real in their six meetings this season.
"It was an intense, competitive and beautiful game. Both teams feared making mistakes and in the end, certain episodes favoured Real Madrid," said Simeone, who admitted Arda Turan's sending off proved costly for his team.
The Turkey midfielder was shown a second yellow card in the 76th minute after a high challenge on Real's Sergio Ramos.
"We were playing against a very strong rival and we did a great job defensively," Simeone said. "Until Arda's sending off we had the game where we wanted it to be."
Atletico must now switch their attention to the only realistic goal they have left this term - holding on to third place in La Liga and earning direct qualification into next season's Champions League.
With a gap of nine points to leaders Barcelona and seven to second-placed Real Madrid with only six games remaining, a top-two finish looks beyond the reigning champions, but they still face a challenge from below with Valencia only four points back in fourth.
Simeone, whose side host Elche on Saturday, said: " Our aim remains the same. Having won the Spanish Super Cup at the beginning of the season (2-1 aggregate victory over Real), we want to end the campaign in third place, which is obviously what the club needs."
Source: PA
