Of Eagles and lions...
Crystal Palace lead England way
It felt fitting that the English season’s traditional curtain-raiser (with a respectful nod to the EFL) should end in penalties. England’s season could end the same way, next summer at the World Cup. So it was equally fitting that an England goalkeeper proved the star of the shootout show. Dean Henderson, who denied Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott as Crystal Palace won the FA Community Shield, has never been short of confidence.
I remember sitting during Covid in a hotel room in Reykjavik, waiting for clearance to attend England’s game with Iceland, and interviewing Henderson via Zoom. Sometimes you get so distracted by the mechanics of a remote interview, signal strength etc, that you don’t immediately pick up on the significance of the words being uttered. Listening back, I realised that Henderson had basically said he was returning to Carrington and Old Trafford determined to oust David de Gea as Manchester United’s No 1.