Since
2017/18, Henderson has saved seven penalties and only conceded six – a
phenomenal record.
Dean Henderson 7-0 against David de Gea in penalty saves
Incredibly,
the 22-year-old is yet to concede a penalty in either the Premier League or the
Championship.
Former
United goalkeeping coach Eric Steele explained the secret to the Sheffield-born
keeper’s success. ‘The big thing about Dean is how he thrives in one-on-one
situations, whether it be in open play or certainly when it gets to the
situation of an opposing player putting the ball on the spot.’
‘All
the greats … are intimidating to anyone about to take a penalty. They had a
presence that could have an unbelievable effect on an opponent. He loves that
challenge. It has always been part of him, ever since he was young.’
De
Gea’s record is far less impressive. In that same three season period, while
Henderson was saving seven of fourteen (with one shot wide), the 29-year-old
failed to stop a single spot kick in 12 attempts.
In
fact, you have to go back as far as the 2015/16 season to find the last time
the Spaniard made a penalty save – against Romelu Lukaku in the FA Cup
semi-final against Everton.
Overall,
de Gea has faced 56 penalties in his senior career and saved only 11 of them.
An
interesting stat-within-a-stat is that of the 45 penalties that the Spaniard
has failed to stop, four were taken by Watford’s Troy Deeney, who will be
lining up against the United on Sunday. If the Red Devils are unfortunate
enough to concede a spot kick, there would be no better time for the Spaniard
to break his duck against Deeney and end the save drought that is fast
approaching its fourth anniversary.
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