Matchweek 35

Introduction  

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and welcome to our Monday round-up section on Premier Skills English.  

Jack: Hi there. I’m Jack. Every Monday we discuss last weekend’s action, the best players, the best matches, Fantasy Football, and make some predictions for next weekend.

Rich: We want you to practise your English and interact with Premier League fans from around the world in our comments section.

Jack: You can do this on the Premier Skills English website or the Premier Skills-British Council Facebook page - if that’s where you are listening to us.

Rich: There were some great games in Matchweek 35 and the FA Cup semi-finals so let’s get on with this week’s round-up!

Headlines

Rich: City celebrate title in style.

Jack: Manchester City thrashed Swansea City 5-0 in their first match since being crowned Premier League Champions. Goals by Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus got the party started at the Etihad Stadium.

Rich: Old friends to meet in FA Cup Final.

Jack: Manchester Utd came from behind to beat Tottenham 2-1 in the first FA Cup semi-final while Chelsea comfortably saw off Southampton’s challenge. The Blues won 2-0 to reach the FInal for the 13th time. United will be playing in a record-equalling 20th FA Cup Final.

Rich: Salah crowned Player of the Year.

Jack: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has been named the PFA Player of the Year. Salah beat the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Harry Kane to win the award and said that he was happy because this award is voted for by his fellow professionals.

Rich: Arsene set to leave Arsenal.

Jack: It was a sad day for Arsenal and the Premier League with Arsene Wenger announcing that he will leave Arsenal after 22 years as manager this summer. Wenger has won the Premier League three times.

Definition Alert! 

Rich: Manchester City have been crowned Premier League Champions … Mohamed Salah has been crowned Player of the Year. To crown someone is an interesting word.

Jack: Yes, a crown is the hat type thing that a king or queen puts on their head - it’s usually made out of gold. 

Rich: The verb is the action of putting a crown on somebody’s head. In football, it is used figuratively to say that someone has won an award or a trophy.

Matchweek Awards

Rich: Right, every Monday, we give out three matchweek awards. Player of the Week, Team of the Week and Match of the Week.

Jack: In the comments section, you need to tell us if you agree with our choices …

Rich: These awards always create a lot of discussion. Last week lots of you agreed with our choices but not all of you.

Jack: Last week Rich said that Kevin De Bruyne was Player of the Week but Raysh from Hong Kong said it should have been Mohamed Salah.

Rich: That’s what Khaldoun83 from Algeria said, too. Maybe I got it wrong last week!

Jack: Alright, anyway, let’s see who agrees and disagrees with our choices this week. Write your opinions on our facebook page or on the website.

Rich: Let’s start with our Player of the Week. There were some great individual performances in the Premier League and FA Cup last weekend but I’m going to go with Manchester Utd’s Alexis Sanchez.

Jack: Good choice! He scored a great header and worked really hard to make sure United beat Spurs and got to the final.

Rich: Team of the Week? Well, we could go for United or even Arsenal but I’m going to go for Manchester City. A 5-0 win against Swansea and worthy Premier League Champions.

Jack: What about the Match of the Week?

Rich: Well, West Brom fought back from 2-0 down to get a 2-2 draw against Liverpool but I think I’m going to choose the Manchester Utd - Spurs match. Both teams played well and it’s always exciting when a team comes from behind to win.

Fantasy Football

Rich: What’s been happening in Fantasy Football this week, Jack?

Jack: The top scoring player in matchweek 35 was Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette with 13 points. He got two late goals in Arsenal’s 4-1 win against West Ham.

Rich: Where is the Premier Skills team in the Premier Skills Fantasy football league?

Jack: We’ve fallen down to 19th place. Lots of our players didn’t play last week.

Rich: Oh dear. What about our Team of the Week?

Jack: That goes to Gerardo Lopez Lozada from Mexico. His team the 11 impostores got 52 points and is also top of the Premier Skills league. Well done Gerardo!

Matchweek Prediction

Jack: You predicted that Manchester Utd would get through to the FA Cup final so well done for your prediction. Which match are you going to look at this week?

Rich: Well, in Matchweek 36 Manchester Utd are at home to Arsenal. This is usually one of the biggest matches of the season but this season things are a bit different. Manchester Utd are still fighting to finish second in the Premier League and will be on a high after reaching the FA Cup Final. Arsenal had a good win last week but this match is in the middle of their two matches against Atletico Madrid in the Europa League semi-final. I think Arsenal will have one eye on that match and rest a few players. Because of that, I think Arsene Wenger’s final trip to Old Trafford might be an unhappy one. Final score: Manchester Utd 3-0 Arsenal.

Jack: Mmm … maybe, but I’ll take that if it means we beat Atletico Madrid.

Rich: Right, that’s all we have time for. I hope you have enjoyed this football round-up. 

Jack: And don’t forget to join the discussion at the bottom of the page. And if you’ve enjoyed this podcast why not leave a rating or review and that will help other people find us. 

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.