Dean Henderson’s ‘head saves’ – and how they are lifting Crystal Palace

Dean Henderson is using his head in helping Crystal Palace return to form.

The England goalkeeper has been showcasing an unusual kind of save in recent months, stopping three goal-bound efforts with his face after rushing out to close down an attacker.

The first was against Pablo Sarabia during the 2-2 draw with Wolves on November 2; then, a week later, he denied Andreas Pereira even though Palace were eventually beaten 2-0 by Fulham. Most recently, and memorably, he repeated the trick against Erling Haaland in another 2-2 against champions Manchester City.

It may not be in the goalkeeping textbook but it has been effective.

And far from being a byproduct of Henderson’s technique going awry, Matt Pyzdrowski, a former professional goalkeeper and The Athletic’s goalkeeping analyst, says the opposite is true.

“It’s because he’s doing a lot of things right,” says Pyzdrowski. “When attackers are in breakaway situations and they’re free on goal, Henderson closes the space very quickly and he does a really good job of keeping his body square to the ball, including his head.

“Because he’s so good at closing the attacker down so quickly and keeping his body square, he stresses the attacker. So they feel like the only thing they can do is hit the ball as hard as they can past him. Because he keeps his head square and looks at the ball the entire time, he gets knocked in the head.

“There’s 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’s taught in every single club for modern goalkeepers.

“This is a middle-ground technique where you don’t have time to really stand and react and you want to close the space as much as possible. It’s just unlucky that he’s got 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 slide it past him with more finesse.”

Henderson had to be patient in waiting for his first-team chance at Palace after arriving from Manchester United, in a deal which could reach £20million, in August 2023.

Sam Johnstone was first-choice for most of last season, and Henderson’s inability to displace him inevitably brought scrutiny over the size of his transfer fee and whether the signing was a sensible use of Palace’s limited resources. The death of his father has been another bitter blow for Henderson to deal with.

But when Johnstone suffered an elbow injury in March, Henderson finally got his chance — which he gratefully took. He duly displaced his team-mate in the England squad for the summer’s European Championship (although he did not make an appearance) and Johnstone ended up being sold to Wolves in late August for £10m.

With each passing week, Henderson is looking more settled as Palace’s No 1, with these unusual ‘head saves’ earning precious points as they seek to climb away from the Premier League’s relegation zone.

So, how does he make them?

The most recent came in the seventh minute of that draw with City last Saturday. Palace, already leading 1-0, were faced with the daunting sight of back-to-back Premier League Golden Boot winner Haaland being one vs one with their goalkeeper. 

“He’s originally retreating to his line, right before the through ball is played,” says Pyzdrowski, having analysed the incident. “He wants to get in a position in case there’s a shot, but also where he can potentially impact the player if there’s a through ball, which is what ends up happening.

“As soon as the ball is played, he’s already on his toes. His body weight is forward and he doesn’t wait. He reacts directly. His head is down looking at the ball, and as soon as Haaland takes his touch and shoots, Henderson is already spreading. His arms and legs are wide.” 

Early in the second half at home to Fulham on November 9, a Palace side depleted by injuries were 1-0 down when Henderson’s heroics up against Pereira kept them in with a chance of taking a point.

“This one was a little different,” Pyzdrowski says. “But it’s similar in that it’s still a through ball and ends up splitting the defenders. As the attack is coming he’s retreating to his line, but he’s able to set a lot earlier (than with the Haaland save), and his defenders are in a little better position. He doesn’t need to rush out as quickly, but as soon as the touch comes in and the striker’s free on goal, he takes a few steps out.

“His limbs are wide, but he doesn’t need to spread in the same way. It’s almost that he gets himself between the ball and the net and takes it off the noggin again. It’s about him staying up as long as he can and just making his limbs as wide as possible.”

The save from Sarabia in the previous game is, Pyzdrowski believes, the best of the three.

With 48 minutes played, the match was goalless when Matheus Cunha played Sarabia in on the left with time and space to bear down on 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 in that the ball is played in behind,” Pyzdrowski says. “But while against Haaland he goes right away, here he’s actually really patient.

“He has a really good neutral position in the centre of his goal. He sees that the ball goes through, but also sees a centre-back (Marc Guehi) coming over to chase the ball. Henderson is about three yards from his goal, Sarabia is just outside the box when the ball is played. So that’s 15 yards.

“For him to go out and spread right away would do more harm than good — he can’t close the space fast enough by the time Sarabia shoots. But once the striker takes his touch in front of him, that’s Henderson’s signal to go, because he receives the ball about at the penalty spot.

“By that point, Henderson had already taken a step or two, so he’s almost at the six-yard box. This is the maximum distance where the ’keeper would want to go out and spread. He throws his arms and legs wide and his head continues to look at the ball, and he takes the hit off his face.

The downside to Henderson making these unusual saves is the possible risk of head injuries.

Neither Henderson nor Palace have reported concerns about him taking these blows to the kisser so far, and the necessary precautions and checks will have been undertaken, but Pyzdrowski estimates that the ball is travelling at a speed “upwards of 100kph an hour” for these shots, which creates obvious dangers.

He foresees a situation in future where it would be “almost mandatory that goalkeepers have some type of rugby scrum cap on, given what we’re learning about concussion and prevention”.

For the time being, however, Palace will simply be grateful that Henderson is finding a way to keep these shots out.

(Top photo: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)