LONDON — Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson shrugged off his FA Cup final red-card reprieve and insisted he knew he would save Omar Marmoush‘s penalty in the Eagles’ 1-0 victory at Wembley Stadium..
Eberechi Eze’s 16th-minute goal was enough to secure the win which earned Palace their first major trophy in their 120-year history.
But the game turned on Henderson escaping a red card for handling the ball outside the penalty area on 24 minutes — 12 minutes before he kept out Marmoush’s penalty.
An angry City manager Pep Guardiola confronted Henderson on the pitch at the end of the game. Henderson told ITV that he believed Guardiola was annoyed about Palace timewasting.
“I said, ‘you got the 10 minutes you wanted’. No hard feelings,” Henderson said.
On the controversial red card decision, the former Manchester United goalkeeper said he was right to avoid a red card and that he wouldn’t lose much sleep over it.
“The ball carried into my box and I knew it was fine — who cares?” Henderson told BBC Sport. “To be fair, [Erling] Haaland might have stepped up. He gave it to Marmoush and I knew which way he was going.
“I knew I would save it.
“We had a feeling it would be our day today. The manager got a gameplan and we executed it. We deserve this so much.”
Palace manager Oliver Glasner, though, admitted that he was nervous that Henderson would see red.
“I thought “why don’t you kick the ball?” he told a news conference. “Those were my thoughts. And then I had my fingers crossed that the VAR didn’t even intervene.”
England international Henderson, who joined Palace from United in a £15 million ($20m) transfer in 2023, dedicated the win to his father, who passed away last year.
“I lost my dad at the start of the season, but he was with me today,” Henderson said. “He was with me every kick of the game. I dedicate that win to him.”
