Credit: Imago

Chris Smith

Sun 10 August 2025 19:02, UK

Crystal Palace secured their second trophy in three months with a penalty shootout win over Liverpool on Sunday.

Three Liverpool winners and three losers from defeat to Crystal Palace	Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs. Crystal Palace as Virgil van Dijk has off-day	Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Crystal Palace as Virgil van Dijk has poor game

The FA Cup winners twice fell behind to the Reds, who scored in the fourth and 21st minutes through debutants Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong.

However, the Eagles wouldn’t lie down, finding a first equaliser from the spot through Jean-Philippe Mateta and then another from the impressive Ismaila Sarr deep into the second half.

It was another glorious Wembley afternoon for Crystal Palace, but who were the big individual winners and losers?

Jean-Philippe Mateta

Jean-Philippe Mateta has been a force of nature for Crystal Palace since the arrival of Oliver Glasner, with his strike on Sunday now extending his record to 31 goals in 60 appearances under the Austrian.

The French striker never really looked like missing as he pulled the Eagles level for the first time.

MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES

Mateta had to feed on scraps at times on Sunday, having the lowest number of touches of any player to play the full 90 minutes (16, FotMob).

However, he still made his presence felt with three shots, while five of those touches came inside the opposition box.

Mateta then stepped up to score another penalty to set Palace on their way to shootout glory.

While the 28-year-old will rightly celebrate a second trophy in three months, he may also be quietly wondering if he’s sent a message to Liverpool, who have been linked with him as a potential alternative to Alexander Isak.

Dean Henderson

Dean Henderson will continue to find himself behind Jordan Pickford in the battle for the England No.1 jersey, while James Trafford’s return to Manchester City may not help there either.

However, for Crystal Palace, he continues to be a hero.



Stats vs LiverpoolDean HendersonSaves3Goals conceded2Shootout saves2Dean Henderson vs Liverpool

We all remember his stunning exploits in the FA Cup final against Manchester City in May, making six saves to the tune of 1.78 goals prevented, including denying Omar Marmoush from the penalty spot.

Well, Henderson was at it again here, saving efforts from Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott in the shootout to seal another piece of silverware for Palace.

“The homework we did for the penalties was great, thank you to everyone behind the scenes,” Henderson said after the match (BBC, 10 August).

Justin Devenny

Justin Devenny only had a few minutes of stoppage time on the pitch plus the penalty shootout, but he certainly made every single second count.

The Northern Ireland international’s only two touches of the ball were shots, first firing one just wide of Alisson’s far post in a moment that almost sent the Palace fans into raptures.

Devenny still managed to do just that, though, with a supremely composed penalty to win the shootout against the Premier League champions.

Not many players can say they’ve done that in just their 29th senior appearance for the club.

Daichi Kamada

(Credit: Imago)

Daichi Kamada hasn’t been the attacking sensation for Crystal Palace that he was at Eintracht Frankfurt, netting just twice in all competitions last season and only adding a further three assists — and none of those goal involvements came in the Premier League.

However, he still brings a lot of quality to this Crystal Palace midfield, both with and without the ball.

It’ll be a major worry, then, to see the Japan international come off just 29 minutes into the match with what appears to be a muscle injury.

Crystal Palace have struggled to make many signings so far this summer, and with the Premier League kick-off now less than a week away, this could be a huge blow for Glasner.

Eberechi Eze

(Credit: Imago)

There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding Eberechi Eze this summer and yet, to the delight of Palace supporters, he remains wearing their jersey.

But the man who scored the FA Cup-winning goal was not at his best here.

Eze was certainly active, attempting three shots.

However, he missed a massive opportunity to win the game outright inside the final half-hour.

The England international then went on to miss his penalty in the shootout, making it far too easy for Alisson to get across and deny him.

Luckily, Eze was bailed out by his teammates, but Glasner will expect a big improvement from him next weekend at Chelsea.

Marc Guehi

(Credit: Imago)

Marc Guehi does not feature in this section for being poor on Sunday.

In fact, he was excellent at the heart of the defence, running up some impressive numbers — including six clearances, five recoveries and three of five duels won.

And that’s even more commendable given how frequently and intensely he’s been linked with Liverpool this summer — the very team he captained his side against here.

But like Kamada, Guehi also came off injured.

Thankfully, it was much later in the game than Kamada and may just be a case of early-season fatigue as players build up fitness.

But for now, there will be a nagging doubt in the back of Guehi’s mind not only about Palace’s opening Premier League forays, but also a potential move to Liverpool.

Related Posts


For more news relating to Chelsea, visit our sister site Chelsea Latest Live.