Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola was proud of his side's performance against Inter Milan despite failing to turn dominance into goals.

Barca bossed the game throughout and created by far the better chances of the two sides at the San Siro, but they had to settle for a goalless draw after being unable to find the breakthrough.

Lionel Messi and Seydou Keita missed the best chances for the visitors, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic had also had at least one decent opportunity to score on his return to his former club.

Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar also played his part in keeping Barca out, while the Catalan giants were aggrieved not to have been awarded a late penalty following an apparent handball by Dejan Stankovic.

Despite not coming away with the three points though, Guardiola was full of praise for his side, saying: "Everybody could see that we've gone out to try and win this game. Nobody can deny that, and this is a reason to feel proud."

He added: "It's never easy to score when there are nine players in the area.

"The result is what it is. It's not bad, but neither is it good."

Barca president Joan Laporta said on his club's website: "We've fought and we've shown great spirit. I think Barca dominated and perhaps we deserved to win.

"I want to congratulate the squad because they've done very well. It's a pity that we haven't scored despite having chances."

Much of the build-up to the game focused on how strikers Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto'o would do against their former clubs following their summer switch.

Ibrahimovic, who Barca gave Inter 46million euros plus Eto'o to sign, enjoyed more possession and chances than his counterpart, but neither player was able to mark the occasion with a goal.

Nevertheless, Ibrahimovic was pleased with the result, saying: "I'm happy because Inter are a very strong team.

"It would have been fairer for Barca to have got the three points, but one point is sufficiently good.

"It's been emotional to play in Milan against my ex-team-mates."