Madrid, May 14 (IANS): Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos lamented the 1-1 draw at home to Juventus which cost his side the chance to defend their European Champions League title against Barcelona in the final.

Former Real striker Alvaro Morata scored the vital goal which sent Madrid out and gave Juventus a 3-2 aggregate win in a tightly fought tie on Wednesday, reports Xinhua.

Madrid had 22 shots on their rival's goal on Wednesday, but the only goal they scored was a Ronaldo penalty and Ramos admitted that missed chances had been decisive.

"It's tough to lose a champions league tie. We have said goodbye at one step from the final and we were favourites," lamented Ramos, who also praised the Italian side that produced an excellent disciplined performance.

"Juventus had merits to get to the final. You have to respect a side like them and they are there because they did things better than we did," he said, lamenting the missed chances.

"We had opportunities to score in the first half to have opened a bigger lead but when you miss chances you pay for them," he said.

The Champions League exit ends a disastrous five days for Real which have seen them knocked out of Europe and all but say goodbye to the La Liga title after falling four points behind Barcelona with just two games to play.

"You have to improve and draw conclusions from defeats and mistakes. It hurts to have fallen just short, but that happens in football," concluded Ramos.