Craig Shakespeare backed Atletico Madrid to win the Champions League after Diego Simeone's side knocked out his Leicester City team 2-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Saul Niguez gave Atletico the lead on the night - extending their 1-0 advantage from the first leg - but Jamie Vardy scored to level the match and spark intense pressure on the LaLiga giants, but the visitors survived to progress to the semi-finals for the third time in four years.

Shakespeare felt Atletico's quality showed over the course of the two matches as the Premier League champions exited after a pair of hard-fought battles.

"Their history speaks for itself," Shakespeare said at his post-match news conference. "Finalists in two of the last three years and we knew what type of challenge to expect. After the first leg we felt we were in the tie and we had a right go but ultimately we've just failed at the last hurdle.

"I think they have been unfortunate in the last few years and we can see the quality they have in both games. They'll be tough opponents in the semi-finals but I don't see any reason why they cannot win it.

"We are disappointed to go out, but I'm immensely proud of the team and I thought we ran an excellent team close and gave them a really good shot at it. The players can be immensely proud of their performance but ultimately they are very disappointed to go out."