The shot-stopper joined the Eagles in the summer following the conclusion of his contract with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, with one cap – and plenty of call-ups – for Argentina to his name, and boasting plenty of proven pedigree in Europe, having made 27 appearances in the UEFA Champions League for PSV.
He duly relished a dream debut in early September, putting in a heroic display in the Eagles’ penalty shoot-out win over Millwall at Selhurst Park.
After a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes, Benítez’s talents came to the fore in the shoot-out, the goalkeeper denying both Tristan Crama and Aidomo Emakhu from 12 yards.
In the following round, he kept a clean sheet against Liverpool at Anfield, as the Eagles ran rampant as 3-0 winners.
And in the quarter-finals, against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, Benítez put in arguably his best Palace performance yet, producing seven saves – six from inside the box, and two in injury time at the end of the second-half – and made two high claims, as well as two clearances, as Palace forced a 1-1 draw in regulation time, before exiting on penalties.
With two clean sheets in six appearances thus far, the Argentine has made a strong start to his life in South London.
Happy birthday, Walter!