Gianluigi Buffon was proud of his Juventus teammates following their last-gasp Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich and believes the Bianconeri are still on a path to winning the tournament.
The veteran goalkeeper was an observer as Juve took a 2-0 lead at the Allianz Arena, extending their aggregate advantage to 4-2 as the Bundesliga leaders struggled to respond.
But those first-half goals from Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado were cancelled out by Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, who headed home Bayern's leveller on the stroke of 90 minutes.
Substitute Thiago Alcantara and on-loan Juve midfielder Kingsley Coman then completed the hosts' comeback in the second half of extra time, meaning the Bianconeri bowed out at the last-16 stage.
Buffon -- twice a losing Champions League finalist with the Turin giants, in 2003 and 2015 -- feels his club's improvement stands them in good stead to claim the trophy in the not too distant future.
He told juventus.com: "It's one thing to go out in a dishonourable way, but another thing entirely to go out after this performance and this result.
"I am proud of the team we have become. This match proves that we have come a long way since this point last year.
"We are on an upward trajectory and this gives us great encouragement to try and get over the finish line within a couple of years."
Buffon, 38, could not hide the fact he had a bitter taste in his mouth after full-time in Munich.
"Not so much for the fact we were 2-0 up," he added. "It's understandable that you can concede two goals to a team like Bayern, but what hurts is to have them equalise in the 90th minute.
"Football can be like that, though."