Sergio Ramos, Jupp Heynckes React to Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich

Sergio Ramos has hit out at Real Madrid's critics after the team scraped through to the UEFA Champions League final, saying it is in the club's DNA to fight to the end. 

Real clung on for a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in their semi-final second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday to reach a third successive Champions League final after winning the first leg 2-1.

Zinedine Zidane's side were far from their best in either clash against the German champions, and Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes believed his side deserved to reach the final in Kiev on May 26, per J. L. Calderon of Marca: "Real can thank Keylor Navas because he was spectacular and made some fantastic saves. If you look at both matches I think we have been the better team, so it's a big disappointment not to reach the final."

Unsurprisingly, Real skipper Ramos disagreed with that assessment, per Rik Sharma in the Mirror: "Real Madrid deserve to be in Kiev. Our DNA pushes us to fight until the end. Now we have to enjoy it and try to win the final. People always run their mouths, we prefer [to] speak on the pitch. I'm proud of this team, this is the reward for so much sacrifice. We were convinced that we could do it and we did it."

Heynckes was right to point to Navas' performance as the Costa Rican goalkeeper was one of Real's star players in the second leg and made up for a subpar performance in the first game, per Sharma and Opta:

Bayern went into Tuesday's clash having missed a number of key chances at the Allianz Arena but were on the scoresheet inside three minutes at the Bernabeu through Joshua Kimmich.

Goals from Karim Benzema either side of half-time put Real back in charge, but James Rodriguez's goal in the 63rd minute gave Bayern renewed hope as they needed just one more to knock out the defending champions.

They were unable to breach Navas' goal again, though, and Real will now have the opportunity to play for a third consecutive Champions League triumph.

The last time the trophy was won by the same team three years in a row was back in the mid-1970s, when Franz Beckenbauer captained Bayern in consecutive finals against Atletico Madrid (1974), Leeds United (1975) and AS Saint-Etienne (1976).

Real downed Atleti on penalties in 2016 to claim their 11th title and then thrashed Juventus 4-1 in last year's final in Cardiff, Wales.

This year they will take on either AS Roma or Liverpool in Kiev's NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, and, though their performances against Bayern were not their best, it would be foolish to bet against a Real side who have made a habit of winning in Europe.