This Week: Up and running

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

In This Week, we’ve got lots of interesting words and phrases to help you talk about football in English.

If you are listening to this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify you can also visit the Premier Skills English website at britishcouncil.org/premierskillsenglish where you’ll be able to download the podcast.

On the Premier Skills English website, you can read the transcript and join the Premier Skills English community by completing a language task in the comments section. This will really help you remember the new words and phrases from the stories from the Premier League.

The words and phrases I am focusing on this week are: to humiliate, a crisis, to rack up, to be up and running, to predate something, venomous, to open your account, to be fired up and a brace.

Listen out for these phrases in the headlines and stories.

Football Phrase

After each story there will be a short language focus and then there will be a task for you to complete and then at the end of the podcast there will be a new football phrase.

But before that, I want to look at last week’s football phrase. If you didn’t hear it last week, here’s one more chance to guess now.

The phrase was ***-*****. This means a carefully practised move from a controlled point; so from a free kick or throw in or corner. Some teams practise ***-****** a lot and are very dangerous when they get a free kick or have another opportunity to do something they have practised on the training ground.

Congratulations to Hayato from Japan, Hsn from Turkey, Hiracky16 from Japan, Lukaszpela from Poland, Vietnguyenngo from Vietnam, Watarmelon from Vietnam, Wilson 2103 from Colombia, Goku from Japan, Gabeced from Brazil and Taher Koshen from Somalia. Also, well done Isshin from Japan you got the answer half right and I also want to mention Worldcupbest from the United States who didn’t actually answer the question. I’m not sure if you understand, but if you post the correct answer, I will edit your comment and change the letters to stars. You don’t need to do it yourself.

Anyhow, you managed to work out that the word I was looking for was set-piece.

Listen till the end of the podcast for a new football phrase that this week was recommended by Hsn from Turkey.

OK, let’s get on with this week’s three football stories!

Manchester United humiliated at Brentford

Manchester United have lost their first two matches of the season for the first time in 100 years. They have one of the most valuable squads in the Premier League with world class players filling their benches. But they are in crisis.

Despite dominating possession and a good number of attempts to score, the team just fell apart when Brentford attacked. And as the Brentford goals went in, the United players looked more desperate racking up four yellow cards.

Brentford played a positive game in front of a delighted home crowd. Whether they were in possession or not, they never let up and pressed hard when they could and made good use of the many set-piece opportunities they were gifted by the Red Devils.

Final score: Brentford 4 - Manchester United 0

The words I want to talk about from this story are to humiliate, crisis and to rack up.

To humiliate someone normally means to make someone feel ashamed or really embarrassed about something they have done. Normally, you might feel humiliated at work or in public if someone makes you look bad or unprofessional. It is quite common in football English because when a team is beaten badly, they will feel ashamed, they will be humiliated. In the headline, I said Manchester United humiliated at Brentford. This form is a little confusing because it’s passive, but because it’s a headline, I dropped the to be. I should have said Manchester United were humiliated at Brentford.

The noun crisis means a really big problem or series of problems. One definition describes the noun as a time of great suffering. Historically, it meant the point when if nothing was done, a problem could no longer be solved and we still use the adjective critical in this way. In modern use, it means a time when lots of people are suffering because of a problem or series of problems.

The phrasal verb to rack up means to gradually get more of something, usually points in a sport. I think that this comes from a scoring system, perhaps in snooker where you have a rack on the wall that you can use to keep players’ scores. So as a player scores more points, they are added to the rack and in that way, their score gradually increases. Another strong collocation with this phrasal verb is to rack up debts. If you have a credit card, it can be easy to keep buying things on credit and so your debts can gradually increase, you can rack up debts.

Let’s move on to the next story.

Aston Villa are up and running

After losing their opening match, the home crowd at Villa Park were on edge when they welcomed Everton on Saturday. The rivalry between the two managers, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, predates their managerial careers and added some spice to the meeting.

Both teams were solid in defence and robust in midfield, but it was in the final third where the teams were less well-matched. Danny Ings opened the scoring for the hosts with a venomous left-foot finish that gave Jordan Pickford no chance.

For most of the rest of the match, the teams battled hard and there wasn’t another goal until the 86th minute. Buendia won the ball in central midfield and released Watkins into the area. Following a well timed lightning sprint, Watkins returned the ball to Buendia who was able to tap home.

Everton got a consolation a minute later when Lucas Digne in an attempt to clear, bundled the ball into his own goal.

Final score: Aston Villa 2 - Everton 1

The three words and phrases I want to look at from this story are: to be up and running, to pre-date something and venomous.

To be up and running is an idiom that means something is operating or working. We normally use it for machines. So if your car breaks down, you might get a mechanic to fix it. The mechanic will get it up and running again. In the headline, I said that Aston Villa are up and running because they have won a match. The idiom means that the team is working but it also implies that the team is dynamic, a bit like a working engine.

To predate something means to have existed before the thing. So if you have two old paintings, the older of the two could be said to predate the newer painting. The verb is transitive and needs an object. Things can only predate newer things so you can’t say something predates. In the story, I mentioned the rivalry between Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard which existed when they were both players for their clubs and when they competed to play for England. Their rivalry, which started when they were players, predates their rivalry as managers.

The word venomous is normally used to describe animals that produce venom. Venom is a poisonous substance that animals use to kill other animals. Normally, it’s snakes and spiders. People often use the word poisonous to describe these dangerous animals, but they should really say venomous. Animals are only poisonous if you eat them. If they have poison in their teeth or stinger, they are venomous. In football English, the adjective is used in a figurative way. When I used venomous to describe Danny Ings’ finish, I meant it was dangerous and powerful.

Let’s move on to the final story.

Arsenal outgun Leicester at the Emirates

Gabriel Jesus opened his account for Arsenal with two goals when they welcomed Leicester at the weekend. The Brazilian striker who arrived at the club from Manchester City scored twice before the break and got two assists in the second half.

The Foxes manager Brendan Rogers strategy was designed to stretch the hosts and soak up their energy and then hit back on the break. But Arteta’s youthful squad was so fired up by their new striker’s first half brace, they had more energy than the Foxes could handle.

Leicester did show flashes of brilliance with an early chance for Fofana that was denied by the Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale and a brilliant goal for James Maddison in the second half. But it was nowhere near enough for the result to ever have been in doubt.

Final score: Arsenal 4 - Leicester City 2

The words and phrases I want to focus on from this story are: to open your account, to be fired up and a brace.

The phrase to open your account means to score for the first time for a club. This is not a literal statement, I don’t think we use the word account to talk about a record of goals scored beyond this phrase. You can open an account in a bank and in some shops you might open an account if you buy things on credit, though this is unusual. In football English, I think we only really talk about players opening their accounts the first time they score.

If you fire someone up, you make someone excited or angry. I used the phrasal verb in a passive way when I said that Arsenal were fired up by their new striker. You can be fired up and you can get fired up. I think that my use was actually an adjective, formed from the past participle of the phrasal verb. They were fired up. If I’d used the verb form, I should probably have used the past perfect.

The final word today is a brace. This is quite easy to describe and it’s something that has come up once or twice before in this podcast. A brace simply means two of something. However, it’s most commonly used for things that have been shot for sport. So hunters might shoot a brace of pheasants and footballers can shoot a brace of goals, though we only say a brace in football English.

OK. That’s 9 words or phrases today. The words and phrases from the stories were: to humiliate, a crisis, to rack up, to be up and running, to predate something, venomous, to open your account, to be fired up and a brace.

Listen to the headlines one more time to hear these words and phrases in context.

Manchester United humiliated at Brentford

Manchester United have lost their first two matches of the season for the first time in 100 years. They have one of the most valuable squads in the Premier League with world class players filling their benches. But they are in crisis.

Despite dominating possession and a good number of attempts to score, the team just fell apart when Brentford attacked. And as the Brentford goals went in, the United players looked more desperate racking up four yellow cards.

Brentford played a positive game in front of a delighted home crowd. Whether they were in possession or not, they never let up and pressed hard when they could and made good use of the many set-piece opportunities they were gifted by the Red Devils.

Final score: Brentford 4 - Manchester United 0

Aston Villa are up and running

After losing their opening match, the home crowd at Villa Park were on edge when they welcomed Everton on Saturday. The rivalry between the two managers, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, predates their managerial careers and added some spice to the meeting.

Both teams were solid in defence and robust in midfield, but it was in the final third where the teams were less well-matched. Danny Ings opened the scoring for the hosts with a venomous left-foot finish that gave Jordan Pickford no chance.

For most of the rest of the match, the teams battled hard and there wasn’t another goal until the 86th minute. Buendia won the ball in central midfield and released Watkins into the area. Following a well timed lightning sprint into the area, Watkins returned the ball to Buendia who was able to tap home.

Everton got a consolation a minute later when Lucas Digne in an attempt to clear, bundled the ball into his own goal.

Final score: Aston Villa 2 - Everton 1

Arsenal outgun Leicester at the Emirates

Gabriel Jesus opened his account for Arsenal with two goals when they welcomed Leicester at the weekend. The Brazilian striker who arrived at the club from Manchester City scored twice before the break and got two assists in the second half.

The Foxes manager Brendon Rogers strategy was designed to stretch the hosts and soak up their energy and then hit back on the break. But Arteta’s youthful squad was so fired up by their new striker’s first half brace, they had more energy than the Foxes could handle.

Leicester did show flashes of brilliance with an early chance for Fofana that was denied by the Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale and a brilliant goal for James Maddison in the second half. But it was nowhere near enough for the result to ever have been in doubt.

Final score: Arsenal 4 - Leicester City 2

Language Challenge

Right, now it’s time for you to think about the language again.

Here are 9 sentences with gaps in them and you have to complete the gaps with the correct form of the words and phrases from this podcast.

Number 1: The restaurant is closed for renovations but will be __ ___ _______ by the time you visit.

Number 2: Petr Cech is the most successful goalkeeper in the history of the Premier League. Throughout his career, he ______ __ over 200 clean sheets.

Number 3: I went to a political rally and one of the speakers got the crowd so _____ __ I thought there might be a riot.

Number 4: When the teacher pointed out my mistake to the whole class I was __________.

Number 5: The adder is the only ________ reptile in the UK.

Number 6: The hunter returned with a _____ of pheasants strung over his shoulder.

Number 7: High inflation is causing a financial ______ and millions of people are going to fall into poverty.

Number 8: Archeologists in America are puzzled by some beads from Europe that _______ Christopher Columbus’ arrival.

Number 9: Joe Ledley ______ ___ _______ for Crystal Palace against West Brom in his debut match.

Leave your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website and I will go through them next week.

Football phrase

Now it’s time for this week’s football phrase.

This week’s football phrase was suggested by one of our top commenters. Thank you Hsn for this football phrase.

The word is *********. This noun is used to describe a kick or sometimes a header that moves the ball away from the goal in a defensive move. A ********* is away from the goal and not towards another player so is only used when a team is at risk of conceding a goal. A good ********* is a powerful kick that puts the ball a long way from the goal and gives the defence time to get into position.

If you know the answer, be sure to leave it in a comment on the page for this podcast on Premier Skills English.

Before I finish, here are the answers to last week’s language challenge.

Number 1: We hit traffic on the way out of the city, but after that, it was plain sailing all the way here.

Number 2: When she started her course she was delighted to discover that several of her compatriots had already enrolled.

Number 3: The team has shown remarkable resilience to keep playing considering the troubles they’ve had.

Number 4: The DJ selected his funkiest record to get the party started with a bang!

Number 5: I just met someone on the bus that looks just like me. It was really bizarre.

Number 6: When the CEO was arrested, the company was in turmoil until a new chief was appointed.

Number 7: Your daughter is a pleasure to teach. She’s a real live wire in class and keeps her classmates laughing throughout the lesson.

Number 8: When I updated the website, I inadvertently deleted the contact us page.

Number 9: The skyscraper is built from reinforced concrete and glass which is how it can be built to such a height.

That’s all I have time for today. Before I finish, I just wanted to say that I hope you found this podcast useful, and I hope all of you stay fit and healthy and safe.

Bye for now and enjoy your football.