Matchweek 22: Smashing Records

Introduction  

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack and welcome to our weekly round-up section called This Week on Premier Skills English.

Rich: Hi there. I’m Rich. We’ve got lots of interesting words and phrases to help you talk about football in English.

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Jack: Don’t forget that we also have our weekly Premier Skills English Podcast that is released every Friday. Every week we help you with some different vocabulary or an aspect of grammar.

Rich: Our latest podcast is about nicknames and mascots and we take a look at language you need to give reasons. You can find it on the Premier Skills English homepage, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most other podcast platforms now. 

Jack: Let’s start this week’s show by reviewing the Premier League action from Matchweek 22.

Headlines

Jack: City goal machine breaks more records.

Rich: Sergio Aguero, already a living legend at Manchester City, became the record Premier League goalscorer for a foreign player after scoring a hat-trick in City’s 6-1 win at Aston Villa. Aguero now has 177 Premier League goals and overtakes Theirry Henry at the top. Aguero scored his 12th Premier League hat-trick more than any other player in Premier League history - overtaking Alan Shearer at the top of the charts.

Jack: Firmino strikes to keep the Reds’ run going.

Rich: Roberto Firmino got the only goal of the game as Liverpool won away at Tottenham. Liverpool are smashing records all season and broke more on Saturday. Liverpool’s 61 points after 21 games is the most any team has ever recorded in any of Europe’s top five leagues.

Jack: United back on track with comprehensive win.

Rich: Manchester United beat Norwich City 4-0. The stars of the show were United’s young strikeforce with two goals from Marcus Rashford on his 200th appearance for the club and one each from Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood. Norwich remain rooted to the bottom of the table after another defeat.

Jack: There were also good wins for Sheffield United, Everton, Watford, Chelsea and Southampton.

Vocabulary alert!

Jack: In our vocabulary alert, we look at some football English that we used in the headlines.

Rich: Our six words and phrases this week are: legend, to overtake, to break a record, to smash a record, strikeforce and to be back on track.

Jack: Let’s start with the phrases we used to talk about Sergio Aguero and Manchester CIty’s 6-1 win at Aston Villa.

Rich: We described Aguero as a living legend. A legend describes someone that is very famous and has done something very well, often in a specific profession - we use it a lot to talk about sports or the arts.

Jack: Audrey Hepburn and Marlon Brando can be described as legends in the acting world. Muhammed Ali, Martina Navratilova, Michael Jordan and Pele are often described as legends in different sports.

Rich: The phrase living legend is usually used to describe someone who is still playing sport, music or acting to a very high level. We might describe Lionel Messi, Serena Williams or Paul McCartney as living legends.

Jack: Another use of the word legend is connected to stories from the past. 

Rich: We might read about the legend of Robin Hood or about Greek legends like the 12 labours of Hercules or King Midas where everything he touches turns to gold.

Jack: The next word we used is to overtake. We said that Serio Aguero has overtaken Theirry Henry as the top foreign goalscorer in the Premier League.

Rich: To overtake means to become greater in number or importance than something else. Theirry Henry scored 176 Premier League goals, Aguero now has 177. Aguero has overtaken Henry in the number of goals scored.

Jack: We also use overtake a lot when talking about driving. If the car in front of us is too slow, we overtake it - we drive faster and go passed it.

Rich: Let’s talk about the Liverpool - Tottenham match. We said that Liverpool broke some records on Saturday. To break a record means to get a better result than has ever been achieved in the past.

Jack: Liverpool now have more points at this stage of the season than any team in Europe’s top five leagues have ever got. They have broken the record for the best-ever start to a Premier League season.

Rich: We said that Liverpool have been smashing records all season. To smash a record is similar to break a record but we use it when a record has been broken by a large number or amount or when we want to add extra emphasis.

Jack: Listen to the difference: Liverpool have been breaking records all season, Liverpool have been smashing records all season.

Rich: Finally, let’s talk about Manchester United’s 4-0 win against Norwich. We said that United got back on track. To get back on track is a phrase we use to say we are going in the right direction again.

Jack: United have not been playing well and they lost their last game against Manchester City but they got back on track with a big win against Norwich.

Rich: Our final word this week is strikeforce. A team’s strike force is the forwards in a team. Manchester United’s strikeforce against Norwich was Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood.

Jack: OK, so there are our six words and phrases. Listen to this part of the podcast again if you are not sure how to use them.

Rich: The words and phrases are: legend, to overtake, to break a record, to smash a record, strikeforce and to be back on track.

Football Awards

Jack: Right, every week, we give out three Matchweek awards. The awards are Player of the Week, Team of the Week and Goal of the Week.

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

Jack: Let’s start with Player of the Week. Danny Ings scored again. That’s 10 goals in 10 games for the Southampton striker. Marcus Rashford is also a good shout with his two goals for Manchester United.

Rich: But our Player of the Week has to be Manchester City’s, Sergio Aguero. The Argentinean got his twelfth Premier League hat-trick and scored his 177th Premier League goal. Will he ever stop?

Jack: Now Team of the Week. This might be a controversial decision but our Team of the Week is not the team that won 6-1 away from home.

Rich: No, our Team of the Week is Southampton. Not only did they win 2-1 away at second-placed Leicester City but they also made their fans forget that painful 9-0 home defeat to the same team just a few months ago.

Jack: Finally, our Goal of the Week. But before we give you our three options this week we want to mention one player that we failed to mention last week.

Rich: That’s right. Brighton’s Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored a wonderful overhead kick against Chelsea on New Year’s Day which saved a point for the Seagulls. We can safely say that it was the goal of the decade at that point!

Jack: Thanks to those of you who pointed out that we forgot to mention the Iranian striker’s goal.

Rich: Right so what are this week’s choices?

Jack: Goal number one: Sergio Aguero for Manchester City against Ason Villa. Aguero’s first goal was a ferocious shot from twenty yards.

Rich: Goal number two: Richarlison for Everton versus Brighton. The Brazilian twisted past two defenders before curling the ball into the corner.

Jack: Goal number three: Pierre Emrick Aubameyang for Arsenal v Crystal Palace. A great team goal although Aubameyang didn’t finish the match after a red card in the second half.

Rich: OK. Those are our three options. Did you see them? Which do you think was the best? Let us know your choice and if you agree with our other weekly awards in our comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Matchweek Prediction 

Jack: Every week, Rich predicts the result of one Premier League match and we want you to make your prediction, too. Which match are you going to look at this week, Rich?

Rich: The next team to attempt to stop Liverpool’s relentless march towards the title will be Liverpool’s greatest rivals - Manchester United. Matchweek 23 sees Liverpool take on United at Anfield. The only team to stop Liverpool winning in the Premier League was Manchester United when the teams drew one all in October. Liverpool have won every Premier League game since and I can’t see United stopping this time. The only glimmer of hope is that United tend to perform better against the top teams. They won away at Manchester City but didn’t do so well in the League Cup last week. No, I think Liverpool will have too much for them and it could be a big win. Final score: Liverpool 3-0 Manchester United.

Jack: I think United will put up more of a fight but they’ll still lose. 2-1 for me.

Rich: Right, that’s all we have time for. I hope you have enjoyed this football round-up. Join the discussion at the bottom of the page on the Premier Skills English website. 

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Rich: If you have any questions or comments or suggestions for the podcast or anything football or English related, you can leave them on the website in the comments section, on social media - on facebook or twitter, on apple podcasts or you can email us at premierskills@britishcouncil.org.

Jack: Remember you can also email us if you want to practise your English skills and answer a few questions for a future podcast.

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.