Making his first appearance in a Palace shirt in the South London derby, Benítez was rarely called upon inside the opening 90 minutes, although he did make solid stops from Zak Sturge and Mihailo Ivanovic shortly before half-time.
But when Chris Richards’ late goal was cancelled out by a late Millwall equaliser to take the Carabao Cup third-round tie to penalties, Benítez’s talents came to the fore, the goalkeeper denying both Tristan Crama and Aidomo Emakhu from 12 yards – and his teammates converting all four of their own penalties – to send Palace into the fourth-round.
“Thank you so much,” the Argentina international smiled, speaking to Sky Sports. “It's difficult when you play in a derby – it's always like a fight.
“We played a good game, and I think we created the most chances to score. But we are happy with this qualification, and now we think about the next round.
“It’s my first game with Crystal Palace, and I'm very happy because I don't play after a long time. And for me, this one is like one gift, so I only enjoy this game. I know it's special for the fans because it's a derby, and so we are happy with this result.”
