Dean Henderson uses his head to help Crystal Palace return to form.
The England goalkeeper has produced an unusual kind of save in recent months, stopping three attempts at goal sight after running out to block off an attacker.
The first was against Pablo Sarabia in the 2-2 draw against Wolves on 2 November; a week later he denied Andreas Pereira, even though Palace were eventually defeated 2–0 by Fulham. Most recently, and memorably, he repeated the trick against Erling Haaland in another 2-2 draw against champions Manchester City.
It may not be in the goalkeeper’s handbook, but it has proven effective.
And far from being a byproduct of Henderson’s faulty technique, Matt Pyzdrowski, a former professional goalkeeper and The Athletics‘s goalkeeping analyst says the opposite is true.
“That’s because he does a lot of things well,” says Pyzdrowski. “When attackers are in breakaway situations and are clear on goal, Henderson closes the space very quickly and he does a very good job of keeping his body square to the ball, including his head.
“Because he is so good at closing the attacker quickly and keeping his body straight, he puts stress on the attacker. So they feel like the only thing they can do is hit the ball past him as hard as possible. Because he keeps his head straight and looks at the ball the whole time, he gets hit on the head.
“There is nothing wrong with this technique. If they try to coach it out of him, it has the potential to do more harm than good. This is a technique that is taught to modern goalkeepers in every club.
Haaland is denied by Henderson’s head (Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)
“This is a middle ground technique where you don’t have time to actually stand and react and you want to close off the space as much as possible. It’s just bad luck that he has three in a row to his head. But it’s a credit to him because he closes the space so quickly, otherwise they would try to let him slide by with more finesse.”
Henderson had to wait patiently for his first-team chance at Palace after joining from Manchester United in August 2023, in a deal that could reach £20million.
Sam Johnstone was first choice for most of last season, and Henderson’s inability to replace him inevitably raised questions about the size of his transfer fee and whether the signing was a wise use of Palace’s limited resources. His father’s death was another bitter blow to Henderson.
But when Johnstone suffered an elbow injury in March, Henderson finally got his chance – which he gratefully took. He supplanted his teammate in the England squad for the summer’s European Championship (although he did not appear) and Johnstone was sold to Wolves for £10 million at the end of August.
With each passing week, Henderson looks more settled as Palace’s No. 1, with these uncharacteristic head saves earning valuable points as they look to climb away from the Premier League relegation zone.
So, how does he make them?
The most recent was last Saturday in the seventh minute of the draw against City. Already 1-0 up, Palace were faced with the terrifying sight of back-to-back Premier League Golden Boot winner Haaland going one-on-one with their goalkeeper.
“He initially retreats to his line, just before the through ball is played,” says Pyzdrowski, after analyzing the incident. “He wants to get into a position where he can be shot, but also where he can potentially influence the player if there is a through ball, which ultimately happens.
“As soon as the ball is played, he is already standing on his toes. His body weight is forward and he doesn’t wait. He responds immediately. His head is down looking at the ball, and as soon as Haaland takes his touch and shoots, Henderson is already spreading out. His arms and legs are wide.”
Early in the second half at home to Fulham on 9 November, an injury-depleted Palace side were 1–0 down when Henderson’s heroics against Pereira kept them in with a chance of a point.
“This one was a little different,” says Pyzdrowski. “But it’s similar in that it’s still a through ball and the defenders end up being split in two. As the attack comes, he retreats to his line, but he can act much earlier (than with Haaland’s save), and his defenders are in a slightly better position. He doesn’t have to run out that quickly, but as soon as the ball comes in and the striker is clear on goal, he takes a few steps out.
‘His limbs are wide, but he doesn’t have to spread in the same way. It’s almost like he gets between the ball and the net and takes it off the header. It’s about him staying upright as long as possible and making his limbs as wide as possible.”
Sarabia’s save from the previous game is the best of the three, according to Pyzdrowski.
After 48 minutes played, the match was goalless when Matheus Cunha played Sarabia in on the left with time and space to reach the goal, only for Henderson to rush out, make himself big again and deny the Spanish midfielder.
“It’s more of a hybrid of the other two, because it’s similar to the one against City, where the ball is played at the back,” says Pyzdrowski. “But while he goes straight away against Haaland, he is actually very patient here.
“He has a very good neutral position in the center of his goal. He sees the ball go through, but also sees a central defender (Marc Guehi) passing by to chase the ball. Henderson is standing about three meters from his goal, Sarabia is standing just outside the penalty area when the ball is played. So that is 15 meters.
“If it were to go out straight away and spread out, it would do more harm than good; he can’t close the room fast enough by the time Sarabia shoots. But as soon as the striker takes his touch in front of him, it’s Henderson’s signal to go, as he receives the ball at approximately the penalty spot.
“At that point, Henderson had already taken a few steps, so he’s almost at six meters. This is the maximum distance the goalie would want to go out and spread out. He throws his arms and legs wide, his head still looking at the ball, and he shrugs the blow off his face.
The downside to Henderson making these unusual saves is the potential risk of head injury.
Neither Henderson nor Palace have yet raised any concerns about him landing these blows on the kisser, and the necessary precautions and checks will have been taken, but Pyzdrowski estimates that for these shots the ball was traveling at a speed of “more than 100 km per o’clock” moves. , which poses obvious dangers.
He foresees a situation in the future where it would be “almost mandatory for goalkeepers to have some sort of rugby scrum cap on, given what we are learning about concussion and prevention”.
For now, though, Palace will simply be grateful that Henderson finds a way to keep these shots out.
(Top photo: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)