Capello rues missed opportunity

Disappointed Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello believes his side should have been out of sight long before Lionel Messi’s netted his dramatic last-gasp equaliser in Saturday night’s 3-3 draw against Barcelona.

Messi powered home a left-footed shot in the dying seconds to complete his hat-trick and earn 10-man Barcelona a point from a thrilling showdown at the Nou Camp.

Capello admits you can never relax when you are playing the likes of Ronaldinho and Messi, but feels his side had enough chances to make the game safe after dominating the second half.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had scored twice in opening 14 minutes of the match, was repeatedly denied by Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes, while the visitors also saw other opportunities go begging.

“Football is like this. We had three very clear chances, which brought about three equally incredible saves by the Barcelona goalkeeper,” Capello said.

“We had the chance of winning, with a comfortable margin, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“When the opposition have such quality players as Ronaldinho and Messi, anything can happen at any time.”

“They didn’t have one chance in the entire second half. Casillas had no work to do.”

Casillas also explained his decision to replace the impressive Guti with youngster Ruben De la Red in the final 10 minutes.

“Guti played a great match, but I substituted him because he had some physical problems towards the end and he himself asked to be replaced,” the Italian added.

“It’s hard to get into the pace of things in the last few minutes.”

The draw left Madrid fourth in the Primera Liga standings, five points adrift of joint leaders Barcelona and Sevilla, although Sevilla can go eight points clear if they beat Gimnastic Tarragona on Sunday evening.