Benítez relives miracle save against Forest
Walter Benítez admits his incredible save – a turning point in Crystal Palace’s 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest – almost happened too quickly for him to recall.
The Argentina international produced one of the finest goalkeeping displays seen at Selhurst Park in recent times to keep his side on course for victory, particularly in a first-half in which the visitors dominated long stretches.
The pick of his catalogue of saves was a stupendous reaction stop from close range against Liam Delap, who had the full goal to aim at – or so he thought – after Morgan Gibbs-White’s effort had crashed against the underside of the bar.
But somehow, Benítez leapt to his feet and managed to prevent the ball from crossing the line – a crucial intervention with Forest threatening to pull away at that stage.
“I can't remember too much because the ball was so fast, so close,” Benítez admitted, speaking to Sky Sports.
“But I tried to do my best, help the team, and I tried to keep my whole body behind the ball.
“I hoped I’d save it. I'm happy for this and for the win, of course.”
The stop provided the platform for Palace, remarkably, to turn things around either side of half-time, Daichi Kamada, Jefferson Lerma and Yéremy Pino all getting the goals.
“I think we played a good game, especially the second-half, and we created more chances,” Benítez added.
“And yes, we pushed most of the time as possible to score more goals, and this is the most important thing today.”