Real Madrid assistant boss Aitor Karanka has dismissed suggestions that his side got lucky in Friday's Champions League semifinal draw by being paired with Borussia Dortmund.
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Madrid only managed one point from six against the 2011/12 German champions when they met in the group stages earlier this season and Karanka believes they can learn from their 3-2 defeat to Galatasaray in the second-leg of the quarterfinals, despite still progressing 5-3 on aggregate.
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"They said Galatasaray was easy and then you saw how hard it was in the return-leg," he told a press conference on Saturday.
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"We weren't able to beat Borussia in the group stages and anyone who thinks it will be easy is mistaken."
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Before concentrating on the Champions League though, Madrid face their last ever trip to San Mames to face Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
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The Basques are moving to a new ground next season and having spent the majority of his own playing career with Athletic, Karanka knows how special a venue it is for football.
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"San Mames is a difficult place to go to, but at the same is a great place to visit as a footballer.
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Although Athletic have players out, the players that will play are of a high standard. For example, no one is going to discover (Fernando) Llorente now."
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However, Karanka did not confirm or deny whether Iker Casillas will return in goal at the ground where he made his Real Madrid debut 14 years ago.
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"For any player the San Mames is special. Obviously for Casillas it is for having made his debut there, but I can't say yet whether he will play."
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Finally, Karanka also touched on his own future given the on-going speculation about whether Jose Mourinho will continue in the Spanish capital at the end of this season.
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"I have almost three years with this coach, learning and enjoying every day more than the last.
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"The day this ends, whenever that may be, I will decide what I will do."
No team was lucky in my opinion. They are all tough teams