Dundee United boss Craig Levein could not help but enjoy a football masterclass by Barcelona on Saturday - even though his side were beat 5-1.United had taken a surprise lead through Prince Buaben which was cancelled out within 60 seconds by Thierry Henry.

The game was then transformed by the arrival of Lionel Messi as a second-half substitute and he stole the show with a hat-trick, with Samuel Eto'o also on the scoresheet.

The rout means Barca have clocked up 11 goals in two games against Scottish opposition, inflicting a 6-0 defeat on Hibernian at Murrayfield on Thursday.

United boss Levein said: "I enjoyed it. It was a fantastic game for us at this point in pre-season and I was really pleased with the way we played for a long spell in the match.

"But, when you're playing against players of the calibre of lads that Barcelona have got, then you really need to do what we did in the first half for 90 minutes.

"I don't think we had the energy to do that. We would need to be world record holders at 1500 metres to do that today.

"But it was a very worthwhile exercise and people got to see some of the best footballers in the world - and the Barcelona players!"

United faced Barcelona this time last year, losing to a late Henry goal, and Levein believes new boss Josep Guardiola has already made his mark on the team.

He added: "For me, they are much fitter than they were last year at this stage.

"They pressed the ball higher up the pitch, they played at a far higher tempo and that's good for us, they really tested us today."

Levein admits he could only stand back and admire Messi's skills as he ran the show following his introduction at half-time.

"He was fantastic to watch and what a difference he made to the game," he said.

"It's not often that we lose 5-1 and I'm smiling watching the opposition playing football.

"He was just a real delight to watch."

Messi may have picked up the sponsors' man of the match award in both games but Guardiola refused to single out the Argentinian for special praise.

He said: "I understand that everybody thinks that Messi is different, of course he is different, but I have to treat him the same as the others.

"I don't understand football only with one player - I understand football as a result of the work of the group.

"For him to do the things he does, he needs someone to bring the ball to him, to create opportunities to score."

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