Dean Henderson was Crystal Palace's hero in their Community Shield triumph, expressing his love for thriving in the big moments under the Wembley arch. 

Henderson saved two penalties to help Palace beat Liverpool 3-2 on penalties in Sunday's final, having fought back from behind twice in normal time to draw 2-2 with the Reds.  

The England international repelled Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliot's efforts from 12 yards before Palace substitute Justin Devenny sealed the win with an emphatic finish. 

For a third consecutive season, the Community Shield has been won by the side that conceded first, with all of those teams emerging victorious via a penalty shoot-out. 

But it was not the first time that Henderson's heroics at Wembley Stadium have helped Palace to victory. 

He became the first goalkeeper to save a penalty in an FA Cup final (excluding shoot-outs) since Petr Cech for Chelsea in 2010 in their triumph over Manchester City.

Henderson also made three crucial saves in the contest, but was beaten by Hugo Ekitike's fine finish and Jeremie Frimpong's cross-shot during the first half. 

"I love the big moments, I love being in that pressure moment. The homework we did on penalties was great," Henderson told TNT Sports.

"They have unbelievable players and have a great team but two trophies in three months is incredible.

"These emotions are fantastic. With them 2-1 up you think we are out the game. The manager said we'd get chances and we did."

Liverpool, meanwhile, lost at Wembley for the second time in 2025 following their EFL Cup final defeat. It was the first time they had lost at the ground twice in the same calendar year. 

But it could be a good omen for their Premier League title defence. Indeed, in four of the last six campaigns, the Community Shield runners-up have gone on to win the top-flight title in the same season. 

But their downfall on Sunday was down to errors in defence, with Virgil van Dijk conceding a penalty before stepping out late from defence which allowed Ismaila Sarr to level the match once again in the 77th minute. 

Liverpool are the favourites to win the Premier League title in 2025-26, emerging victorious in 28.2% of the Opta supercomputer's season simulations, though Van Dijk said their loss to Palace was far from the ideal start to the campaign. 

"Obviously, today we lost so that is not a good start, but we will have to take it game by game," Van Dijk told reporters. 

"That is the mindset and has always been the mindset for us, it is going to be a very intense season in all competitions, and we have to be ready to show our quality in that sense.

"There were good things but there are also plenty of things that we have to improve, and we have to work on and that is our plan now.

"You want to win this game, it is a final, it is a trophy that we play for and that is a disappointing part of it."

Van Dijk also teased at a potential new arrival in the forward areas, with Newcastle United's Alexander Isak linked with a big-money switch to Anfield this summer. 

The Reds have reportedly had an initial bid of £110m turned down for Isak by the Magpies, who value the Sweden international at around £150m. 

"Well, we just lost Darwin, he went to Saudi, and we lost Lucho. Obviously he went to Bayern," Van Dijk told talkSPORT. 

"I think there's always room for an attacker in order to strengthen us, so let's see what the window brings in terms of the balance of the team."