Dean Henderson delivers bold interview after leading Crystal Palace to FA Cup glory over Manchester City with penalty heroics - 'I knew I'd save it'

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Dean Henderson was the man of the moment following Crystal Palace's FA Cup final win, proudly proclaiming he knew he would save Omar Marmoush's penalty in the first half. The keeper delivered several crucial stops, but was perhaps lucky to escape a potential red card after seemingly handling the ball outside of his box whilst Erling Haaland hurtled towards him.

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Dean Henderson delivered a bold post-match interview after helping Crystal Palace to their first-ever major trophy with a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

The goalkeeper was confident and assertive as he recalled his penalty save in the first half to deny Omar Marmoush, saying he "knew I'd save it."

Whilst Eberechi Eze struck the winner for Palace, netting on 16 minutes, Henderson's penalty stop and his flurry of crucial saves secured the trophy for The Eagles.

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"To be fair, [Erling] Haaland might have stepped [up], I wasn't sure which way he'd go.

"He gave it to Marmoush, I knew which way he was going. I knew I'd save it," the Palace hero told BBC Sport.

But the goalkeeper's performance was not without controversy as he appeared to handle the ball outside of the box in the first half, as he swiped it away from the attacking Erling Haaland.

VAR deemed that Haaland was going away from the goal, meaning that Henderson's swipe was not a denial of a goal-scoring opportunity.

"The ball carried into my box, I knew I was fine," Henderson said. "It doesn't matter, who cares?"

The avoidance of a sending-off perhaps contributed to a brief but heated moment between Henderson and Man City boss Pep Guardiola after the game, when the Spaniard approached the shotstopper and wagged his finger.

Guardiola had to be pushed away from him as Henderson continued to celebrate.

"I just went to shake his hand, but obviously, I think he was disappointed with the time-wasting. I said, 'You got the 10 minutes that you wanted'. No hard feelings," Henderson explained.

He continued: "It's incredible. We had a feeling it would be our day today. The whole week it's been building up. The manager's got a game plan, we executed it. We deserve this so much."

Palace suffered a dire start to the season, winning just one of their opening 10 games in the league.

Oliver Glasner drew plaudits for how well he had Palace playing towards the end of last season, but the loss of Michael Olise had the manager searching for goals and assists in his absence.

Thankfully, Henderson has stood firm in goal and his 11 clean sheets in the league ranks third behind only Arsenal's David Raya (12) and Nottingham Forest's Matz Sels (13).

In a heartfelt moment, Henderson dedicated the win to his late father, who passed away at the beginning of the season.

"I lost my dad at the start of the season, and I miss him here today," he said. "But he was with me every kick of the ball. I dedicate that win to him."

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