"I think Getafe won with merit. We played badly and bore the brunt of their players' aggressiveness," he said on Real Madrid's official website of the 1-0 defeat.

"Getafe played well. Anything else would be an excuse. We lacked rhythm. They were faster and wanted it more."

Despite paying respects to his opponents, Capello was quick to dissect what made Real Madrid lose their first game of the league season.

"(Ivan) Helguera had cramps during the second half, and I couldn't replace him because I had already made three changes," the Italian coach claimed.

"We played the first half with two centre-backs who hadn't played in a long time. Getafe's aggressiveness didn't allow us to play calmer football."

The Italian tactician refused to comment on Ronaldo’s sending off.

The Brazilian star was given a second yellow card in the 90th minute after arguing with the referee about a booking on teammate Rudd Van Nistelrooy.

"I don't want to speak about the referees. Me being mad or not serves no purpose. I don't think we can appeal the yellow card so that Ronaldo can play against Barça."

Beyond his criticisms, Capello is already planning ahead to the Spanish side's next match in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

"We have to focus on Tuesday's important match against Steaua Bucharest."