In the final minute, defender Darren Dods pulled down Giovani and Henry, on as a second-half substitute, stepped up to take the resulting penalty.

United's debutant goalkeeper, Grzegorz Szamotulski, saved the first effort, but Henry netted the rebound.

Barry Robson had a goal ruled out just before Henry struck, while Lee Wilkie had a header cleared off the line.

Rijkaard admitted United had deserved something from the game.

"It was a shame the public didn't see more goals and Dundee United deserved a goal for the way they played," he said. "It seemed more than a friendly game, because there was lots of aggression and they gave us a very tough match."

United manager Craig Levein thought his side were hard done by when they conceded a penalty.

And he also thought that Robson's goal should have stood.

"I might have had my blinkers on for 90 minutes, but I thought it was a good goal that we scored and I didn't think it was a penalty either," he said.

"I thought it was a good game, but I am disappointed at the result.

"I would say that to take Barcelona within two minutes is a great sign for us, because they are a team of quality."