tHe has a very special connection between the legendary Wembley Stadium and Crystal Palace. In May, the “Eagles” finished their 120 title drought by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final and flew again at the start of the season, beating Liverpool in a dramatic Community Shield match determined by penalty.
After a regular anger 2-2 draw, Oliver Glasner’s men had better luck from the penalty spot in a shootout where goalkeepers Henderson and Allison shined between the posts. The palace never gave up and saw their efforts pay off with dramatic finishes.
Despite the great performances of the Reds’ Big Money Signatures, Florian Wiltz, Hugo Echitic, Jeremy Fripon and Milos Kerkes, the South Londoners never gave up as they all started the game. Four minutes later, Wirtz and Ekitik linked to the edge of the region, with the French linking in a fantastic half-turn, and they scored their first goal for the pool after arriving at Anfield with 80 million people.
However, “Azur Grana” responded quickly and found an equalizer in the 17th minute. Van Dijk defeated Sarr in the area and the referee did not hesitate to award the penalty. Eagles striker Mateta made no mistake from the spot with a great strike, but 21 minutes of Frimon brought Liverpool back forward, initially intended as an Ekitik, but was targeted towards the goal, shocking everyone at goalkeeper Henderson and Wembley.
Searle and Henderson the Heroes
Crystal Palace kept pressing the equalizer in the second half. Oliver Glasner’s side was better than the Liverpool team, who had exhausted steam. After some clear warnings and an extraordinary performance from Allison, the equalizer came in the 77th minute. Richardson recovered the ball after a Gakupo mistake and set up Searle.
Londoners were taking a major blow to Liverpool. Liverpool could barely respond. Along the way, the palace suffered the injury to Captain Guhi and brought in the young Justin Devenny.
The penalty came, and it was Henderson’s turn to shine. The former Manchester United player wears his distinctive black hat and saves a penalty from Mac Alistair and Harvey Elliott after Sarah sends the first sky high. Mateta, Sarr and Devenny also did their job despite mistakes and good performances from Allison, who couldn’t prevent the defeat.
The Palace went on over 120 years without winning the title, but under Oliver Grasner, they appear to have become real “huge killers” when they stepped into Wembley’s lawn to play the final against members of the Premier League’s “Big Six.”
