Zinedine Zidane relieved to see his Real Madrid side emerge unscathed from ‘crazy game’ against Bayern Munich

Real Madrid managed to draw 2-2 with Bayern Munich to progress on aggregate and reach their third consecutive Champions League final

Zinedine Zidane's pulse was racing in the final minutes (Getty)

Even Zinedine Zidane was prepared to admit that his pulse was racing in those final minutes. As Real Madrid dug in for the 2-2 draw that secured their progress to a third consecutive Champions League final, Zidane hailed the achievement of his players on holding their own in what he described as “a crazy game of football”.

“It is a beautiful feeling,” said Zidane. “This is why we like football: through football, we get to experience such beautiful emotions. In football, you need to be able to suffer, and we were able to do it. Of course it is a bit tough on the heart, but it’s fine; we get to rest later on. We believed in ourselves, believed in the work we put in, and we wanted to defend our title. We’ll get a chance in Kiev and will give it our all. But we haven’t made it yet.”

The last team to reach three straight finals in this competition was the Juventus side of the mid-1990s that Zidane played for. Now, as potentially the first coach in the modern era to win three Champions League in a row, he explained the unique mentality that has allowed Real to thrive in the upper reaches of the competition.

“This club has a very long tradition of victories, and we’re contributing to it,” he said. “We’re writing this history, as others have done before us. The point is that Madrid never give up. Tonight we were faced with a number of obstacles. But we believed in what we wanted to achieve, and we achieve our goals, because we fight.”

Meanwhile, a rueful Jupp Heynckes reflected on his last Champions League game as coach as the one that got away. “If you look at both games, it is quite apparent we were the best team,” the Bayern Munich coach said. “We dominated, I believe, and they should thank [goalkeeper Keylor] Navas for his performance. He was spectacular.”

At the age of 72, Heynckes will pass into a well-earned retirement at the end of the season, but there was no sadness. “My last Champions League game before this season was in 2013,” he said. “After that, I didn’t think I would ever coach a team again. But then, things changed. I can safely say now that my decision is permanent. I will never be sitting on a bench in the Champions League again. But that’s fine. I don’t think there are many people out there at 72 years of age who can live such beautiful adventures.”