In the dressing room after May’s FA Cup final, Eberechi Eze pushed his player-of-the-match award into the hands of Ismaila Sarr, insisting his teammate was more deserving. This time Eze didn’t need to be so generous. Sarr tricked Virgil van Dijk into conceding a penalty, scored a second-half equaliser and calmly converted his kick in the shootout as Palace beat Liverpool to win the Community Shield.
Sarr was dancing on the pitch when his award was announced over Wembley’s public address system. It was now long after the full-time whistle and most of his teammates were in pieces – the captain Marc Guehi had pulled up with cramp in the heat – but their Senegalese forward was still moving his legs, hips swaying, a broad smile across his face.
