The Dutchman revealed his satisfaction with the draw given the circumstances of the game which saw the Catalans play the entire second-half with ten men following Oleguer's dismissal at the stroke of halftime.

"From a moral point of view, the draw is a good result," Rijkaard told the post-match press conference.

"Before the game a draw was considered unacceptable, but looking at the whole game and seeing that despite playing ten against eleven that we were still capable of earning a draw, we can view it as a success."

Lionel Messi proved to be the savior for Barca after his spectacular treble denied Real three times, and Rijkaard was quick to heap praise on the Argentinean sensation.

"When a player scores all the goals and, besides, scores a vital one, it means he has had a really special match. He has tremendous talent."

On the other hand, Real Madrid boss Fabio Capello admitted that his team should have won had they took advantage of the host of opportunities created in the second-half.

"We had the chance of winning, with a comfortable margin, but it wasn't meant to be," Capello said.

"We had three very clear chances but we were denied by equally incredible saves by Barcelona's keeper, and when you play an opposition with such quality players as Ronaldinho and Messi, anything can happen at any time."