Dean Henderson and Jean-Philippe Mateta certainly played their part as Crystal Palace drew 2-2 against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Firstly, the £9m Frenchman showed great awareness to slot Ismaila Sarr through on goal with just four minutes on the clock, notching an assist after the Senegal international finished beyond Emiliano Martinez superbly.
Then, it was the England international’s time to shine in between the sticks after Aston Villa were awarded a penalty for a foul from Will Hughes, leaping to his left to deny Youri Tielemans.
Just 60 seconds later, the Eagles went 2-1 up after Justin Devenny finished off a brilliant counter-attack.
Now, writing on Instagram, Jean-Philippe Mateta has sent a message to Crystal Palace teammate Dean Henderson.
Jean-Philippe Mateta salutes Dean Henderson
The Crystal Palace No.14 posted a photo of Henderson’s save from Tielemans on his temporary Instagram story after Saturday’s draw, opting to salute the Crystal Palace No.1 in wordless fashion.
Mateta, who is still yet to sign a new contract, simply captioned the image with two emojis showing a face blowing kisses, to express his appreciation for the 27-year-old’s excellent stop.
The man from Sevran also posted heart emojis in response to images of Devenny and Sarr, recognising the duo’s part in what was a decent point away to a UEFA Champions League outfit.
How Dean Henderson celebrated Justin Devenny putting Crystal Palace 2-1 up
The man from Whitehaven is quite clearly a passionate goalkeeper who appreciates the fans, pointing over to the away supporters after denying Tielemans.
However, Henderson went one better after Devenny scored, pulling off a faultless knee slide right in front of the travelling fans, as if he’d found the top corner from 30 yards himself.
As things stand, Henderson has a chance of winning our Player of the Season award, stepping up in several games with important, brave stops – without his efforts in between the sticks, we may have even fewer than eight points after 12 games.
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