Having played the entire second half with only 10 men following the dismissal of Oleguer Presas just before the break, Barca can be thankful to have escaped with a point, and, according to Rijkaard, the man mainly responsible for that was Messi.

“He has saved us from defeat. When a player scores three goals it means he has had a very special game,” said the coach.

Losing at home to their arch-rivals would have capped a miserable week for Barca, who last weekend lost top spot in La Liga after being beaten by Sevilla, before then being knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool.

“Morally, the draw is a good result for the team, because we have all seen that the players have shown great effort and have fought very hard,” Rijkaard said.

“Watching the game and seeing how despite playing 10 against 11 we have been able to draw, we can read that as a success.”

Rijkaard, whose side returned to the top of the table – if only for 24 hours - following the draw, admits ’el clasico’ did throw up some problems which he needs to address.

“When we do not have the ball we are less organised, which meant our opponents could attack with ease,” he said.

“It is an aspect which we have to analyse and correct so that it is not repeated.”

Barcelona president Joan Laporta believes the fighting sprit shown by the team against Madrid proves they still have every chance of retaining their Primera Liga title this season.

“Barca are a firm candidate to win the title following the reaction we have seen from the team to the adverse circumstance in this game,” Laporta said on his club’s website.

“For us, it is very important to maintain the distance to the other teams which are close to us, and this gives is the strength to continue accumulating points.”