James Rodriguez says he knew Real Madrid would mount a comeback in El Clasico despite Barcelona taking an early lead.
Neymar gave the Catalans a fourth-minute lead at the Santiago Bernabeu before goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Karim Benzema sealed it for Carlo Ancelotti’s men, although James felt the result was never in doubt.
“I am a calm person but I felt the pressure beforehand. That’s normal, but I was relaxed because we had been playing well and I had faith we could win,” he told Cadena SER’s ‘El Larguero’ programme.
“On the bus I had [Sergio] Ramos and Benzema in front of me. Karim is quiet. We had no music on and were very focused.
“The fans were amazing and there were lots of people waiting for us. I will never forget those images and they will always be with me.
“Thank God we won. What impressed me most was the noise they made and I was watching them.
“I wasn’t afraid. There were four minutes gone and we were lacking something, although we had good players to turn things around and we ended up winning 3-1.
“In the dressing room we always had faith. I saw they were giving us space behind and were getting tired, so I said to Cristiano they were tired and giving us some room.
“After that we had five counter-attacks we couldn’t convert into goals.”
James revealed that following the game, rather than celebrating, he went home to relax.
“I went home as I had friends and family there. I was relaxing at home and it was happy and peaceful. Cristiano, [Gareth] Bale and [Toni] Kroos live nearby.
“I try to go out as little as possible and never go shopping. My partner goes alone. I prefer to relax because people ask for a lot of photographs.
“I do a lot of photos but in the end it tires you out a little bit,” he confessed.
