Dean Henderson has revealed he knew he would save Omar Marmoush's penalty in the FA Cup final after Erling Haaland stepped away.
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Palace lift FA CupHenderson saved Marmoush penalty in finalGoalkeeper lucky to escape red cardFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The Palace goalkeeper stopped a crucial spot kick from the Egyptian forward and admitted after the game that he believed he would make the save when he saw that Haaland would not take it. Many would have expected the Norwegian to step up amid the pressure and tuck home the penalty, including Henderson, but he handed the responsibility to Marmoush who fluffed his lines. Haaland may be wishing he did not shirk the chance now.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT HENDERSON SAID
Speaking after the game, Henderson told : "It's incredible, we had a feeling it'd be our day today. The manager had a gameplan, we executed. We deserve this so much.
"Haaland might've stepped up, I didn't know which way he'd go, but Marmoush, I knew which way he was going. I knew I would save it."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The penalty was City's biggest chance to get back into the game after Eberechi Eze guided home to put the Eagles 1-0 up. However, Henderson was perhaps lucky to remain on the pitch. A check by VAR was needed to assess whether he had denied Haaland an obvious goalscoring opportunity, but the striker was judged to be taking the ball away from goal and therefore "a possible, but not an obvious goal scoring opportunity." After the game Henderson said he did not think it was a red card. He claimed: "The ball carried into my box, I knew I was fine, it held up as it was a bit dry, it doesn't matter, who cares?"
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR HENDERSON?
After his heroics, the English goalkeeper lifted the FA Cup and wrote his name into Palace folklore. The Eagles have a home game next against Wolves, but it is hard to imagine the players giving that game a moments thought on Saturday evening.
