The green of the legendary Wembley Stadium and Crystal Palace have a very special connection. In May, ‘The Eagles’ ended a 120-year title drought by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final, and now at the start of the season they have taken flight again by defeating Liverpool in a dramatic Community Shield match that was decided on penalties.
After a frantic 2-2 draw in regular time, Oliver Glasner’s men had better luck from the penalty spot in a shootout where goalkeepers Henderson and Alisson shone between the posts. Palace never gave up and saw their efforts rewarded in a dramatic finish.
Despite a great performance from the Reds’ big-money signings Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké, Jeremy Frimpong, and Milos Kerkez, all of whom started the game, the south Londoners never gave up. It all started badly for Palace when, after four minutes, Wirtz and Ekitiké linked up on the edge of the area and the Frenchman, with a splendid half-turn, scored his first goal for the Pool in an official match after arriving at Anfield for £80 million.
But the ‘Azulgranas’ were quick to respond and found the equalizer in the 17th minute. Van Dijk brought down Sarr in the area and the referee did not hesitate to award a penalty. Mateta, the Eagles’ striker, made no mistake from the spot with a great strike, but the joy did not last long, because in the 21st minute Frimpong put Liverpool back in front with a cross that was initially intended for Ekitiké but ended up becoming a great goal as it went towards the goal and surprised goalkeeper Henderson and everyone present at Wembley.
Sarr and Henderson the heroes
Crystal Palace kept pushing for the equalizer in the second half. Oliver Glasner’s side were superior to a Liverpool team that was running out of steam. After several clear warnings and an extraordinary performance from Alisson, the equalizer came in the 77th minute, when Richardson recovered the ball after a mistake by Gakpo and set up Sarr, who coolly and confidently finished past the Brazilian goalkeeper, who this time could do nothing to prevent the goal.
The Londoners were dealing a heavy blow to Liverpool, who could do little to respond. Along the way, Palace suffered the injury of their captain Guéhi, bringing on young Justin Devenny, who ended up being the unexpected hero to give his team the title.
Penalties arrived and it was Henderson’s turn to shine. The former Manchester United player, wearing his distinctive black cap, saved penalties from Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott, after Salah had sent the first one sky high. Mateta, Sarr, and Devenny also did their job despite the misses and a good performance from Alisson, who was unable to prevent the defeat.
Palace had gone more than 120 years without winning a title, but it seems that under Oliver Glasner, they have become a real ‘giant killer’ when they step onto the Wembley turf to play finals against the members of the Premier League’s ‘big six’.
Read the full article here
