This Week: Spurs seal the deal

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 premierskillsenglish.britishcouncil.org 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.

This week, I’m talking about two really important Tottenham Hotspur matches. The results of these two matches at this point in the season will have a massive impact on the fortunes of the two clubs they are playing against and will ripple throughout the league.

The words and phrases I am going to talk about today are:

• To pull something out
• Understated
• Philosophical
• Bizarre
• To hold your nerve
• To go out of the window

Listen out for this vocabulary in this week’s stories.

Last week, I tried something different for the football phrase and challenged you to come up with different ways of describing shots on goal and you didn’t disappoint. I was expecting you to share phrases like a screamer and a thunderbolt, and well done to AndreTorre for coming up with those examples but some of you were really creative and came up with new words and phrases. I loved Gapa’s suggestion of a goalcast, perhaps that’s something I should work into my podcast. Marian C suggested a period, though in British English we say a full stop and to tear the net, which is a nice figurative expression. Jacob Burns suggested using the phrase spot on, which is normally an adjective phrase that means accurate and appropriate so I can see why you’d suggest its use for a goal. I really liked the variations of goalkeeper’s trial that Alex from Ukraine suggested. I think that Ortega would have identified Son Heung-min’;s effort as a goalie’s aptitude test. I like Hsn’s suggestion of banging the ball into the goal. I like the explosive sound in bang so it expresses a powerful shot very well. Wojciech M, your suggestion to fire the ball is good. It makes me think of firing a gun. And I love the phrase to chalk up a point, Denis2000. I like language that reflects obsolete technology. And well done to El Chueco and Leofabiano, you both identified good phrases that are already used to talk about scoring goals.

Keep listening till the end of the podcast for a new football phrase and I’ve got another special request this week so I will appreciate your creativity once more.

Now, it’s time for the first story.

Spurs seal Burnley's fate

Burnley travelled down to London on Saturday to face Spurs. The London side had been struggling having lost their four previous games and needed the win to keep their chances of Champions League football alive. Burnley had been facing relegation for some weeks but showed incredible spirit at the end of the season and had pulled out some decent performances to keep the possibility of Premier League survival alive, unlikely, but alive.

Burnley took the lead after 25 minutes and looked they might just do it when Jacob Bruun Larsen buried the ball in the back of the net following a heroic run from Berge who ran the ball all the way down the pitch, surviving two challenges before passing the ball forwards for Bruun Larsen who held his nerve and held off a defender before scoring.

However, seven minutes later, Pedro Porro equalised with an impressive solo effort. Porro powered through Burnley’s defence before unleashing a screamer that beat the keeper at the near post.

And then for the next 50 minutes both teams made chances and then failed at the final pass or failed to finish. There was some good looking football played in this period, but there were some serious mistakes made by both teams.

The decisive moment came in the 82nd minute. Micky van de Ven collected a fast ball forward from Maddison. He skipped past Maxime Esteve and wrong footed Dara O'Shea before slotting the ball into the bottom left corner, ending Tottenham’s losing streak and Burnley’s hopes of survival.

After the match, when asked about Micky van de Ven’s impact, Ange Postecoglou, in an delightfully understated reflection said: ‘He’s not a bad player’.

When Vincent Kompany was interviewed, he was characteristically philosophical about the result saying: Day one of the next season starts now and I’m looking forward to that as well.

Final score: Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 Burnley

The words from the story that I want to talk about are:

• To pull something out
• Understated
• Philosophical

To pull something out

To pull something out means to do something or produce something, often unexpectedly or impressively. I think it comes from the idea of magicians who pull surprising things out of hats or out of thin air. We often use this phrase when someone is in a really difficult situation, perhaps there’s a situation at work and it all looks hopeless and then one of your colleagues has a solution to the problem that nobody expected. You might say to your colleague: Well done for pulling that one out, I thought we were in trouble. In the story, I said that Burnley pulled out some decent performances. For most of the season, they really didn’t play well and then towards the end, when everything should have been lost, they produced some good football. It was slightly surprising so I said they pulled out some decent performances.

Understated

Understated means presented without show or drama. So there’s a joke in a book about an American who gets upset when they cook a meal for a British person who tells their host that the meal is pretty good. The American is furious and demands to know why the meal is only pretty good, they are convinced that it’s the best meal that’s ever been produced. Now, in the UK and other countries, like Australia, people feel a bit uncomfortable talking about amazing things, even if they are amazing and say things like quite nice or not bad when they mean ‘that was the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life’. This way of describing something is understating, that is to express an idea with less enthusiasm or feeling than it might deserve. Micky van de Ven played an amazing game, but Ange Postecoglou afterwards described him as not a bad player. Hopefully van de Ven will recognise that in his own way, Ange was praising him very highly.

Philosophical

If you describe someone as philosophical, you mean they are deeply thoughtful, reflective, and often engage in pondering the big questions of life. However, we also use the adjective in a special way to talk about a person’s response to a difficult situation. If you are philosophical about something, this normally means you are dealing with a tough situation in a calm and thoughtful way; you have accepted the situation and are not upset or angry, you are focusing on the bigger picture.

When Vincent Kompany was asked about his feelings following Burnley’s relegation, he said day one of the new season starts now. He was not angry or upset, though he must have been feeling a little disappointed, he didn’t show it and said he’s looking forward to the new campaign.

Time to move on to the next story.

Manchester City hold their nerve

Just three days later, Spurs were back in action in another high stakes match. Spurs were in a battle with Villa for fourth place and a spot in the Champions league and they were playing against Manchester City who were chasing a record 4th consecutive Premier League title. If Spurs won or drew the match, they would have done huge favour for their biggest rivals Arsenal who were a point ahead but had played one match more. This led to some of the most bizarre conversations about football that I’ve ever heard. Arsenal fans were recorded saying that they would be supporting Spurs and some Spurs fans were talking about supporting Manchester City, saying that they would rather lose and miss out on Champions League football than see their neighbours lift the Premier League trophy.

So on Tuesday night, fans from four different clubs were watching to see how Manchester City were going to cope with the pressure at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

From kick off, it was clear that any concerns about helping their local rivals went out of the window. Ange Postecoglou was out for victory, playing a new box midfield formation with wide strikers. Spurs attacked from the off and had clear intent and in the first half, the champions looked nervous. City had the best chances, but Spurs defended well and the half finished without any goals. And then in the second half, City broke through. It took the combined efforts of Bernardo Silva who fired forwards from the edge of the box, Kevin De Bruyne who shot the ball across the goal mouth and Erling Haaland who timed his run to perfection to score with a tap in.

For the remainder of the match, Spurs kept the pressure on and very nearly equalised several times. Their best chance came when Son Heung Min ran onto the ball and charged at the goal, one on one with Ortega who had come on as a substitute. Ortega held his ground and his nerve and blocked the Spurs Skipper’s shot, saving the champion’s lead.
In the 89th minute, Pedro Porro brought down Jeremy Doku in the penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot. Haaland stepped up and buried the ball into the top left corner of the net, giving Vicario no chance.

Final score: Tottenham Hotspur 0 - 2 Manchester City

The words from the story that I want to talk about are:

• Bizarre
• To hold your nerve
• To go out of the window

Bizarre

The adjective bizarre is used to say that something is very strange or unusual, often in a way that is amusing or intriguing. When I was at school, there was a magazine called Bizarre that used to have pictures and stories of strange people and places. It was full of stories that were a combination of interesting and unsettling; stories that were attractive and funny but also a little scary or a little disgusting. If you see something that is strange and interesting, you can use the exclamation: How bizarre!

To hold your nerve

If you hold your nerve, this means you stay calm and composed under pressure. So if you are in a difficult situation, perhaps a dangerous or confusing situation and you stay calm and in control, you don’t panic or become emotional, you have held your nerve. I am very glad to say that I have not been in a situation where I have needed to hold my nerve for a long time. Professional footballers face these pressured situations every match. So when Son Heung-min was charging towards Ortega, the pressure must have been enormous. If Ortega had panicked and lost his nerve, that might have lost the title for Manchester City, but Ortega held his nerve, he kept his eye on the ball and blocked Son’s shot.

To go out of the window

This is a strange phrase. We say that ideas or expectations or fears go out of the window when they are no longer relevant or possible. So if you have plans to visit an old friend who lives in a neighbouring city but your car breaks down so you can’t drive to their city, then your plans could be said to have gone out of the window. It is quite a bizarre phrase. I’m not sure why we say plans go out of the window. I tried searching for the origin of the phrase, but I couldn’t find anything sensible.

Today, I’ve spoken about 6 useful words and phrases.

The words and phrases were:

• To pull something out
• Understated
• Philosophical
• Bizarre
• To hold your nerve
• To go out of the window

Listen to the stories one more time to hear this language in context.

Spurs seal Burnley's fate

Burnley travelled down to London on Saturday to face Spurs. The London side had been struggling having lost their four previous games and needed the win to keep their chances of Champions League football alive. Burnley had been facing relegation for some weeks but showed incredible spirit at the end of the season and had pulled out some decent performances to keep the possibility of Premier League survival alive, unlikely, but alive.

Burnley took the lead after 25 minutes and looked they might just do it when Jacob Bruun Larsen buried the ball in the back of the net following a heroic run from Berge who ran the ball all the way down the pitch, surviving two challenges before passing the ball forwards for Bruun Larsen who held his nerve and held off a defender before scoring.

However, seven minutes later, Pedro Porro equalised with an impressive solo effort. Porro powered through Burnley’s defence before unleashing a screamer that beat the keeper at the near post.

And then for the next 50 minutes both teams made chances and then failed at the final pass or failed to finish. There was some good looking football played in this period, but there were some serious mistakes made by both teams.

The decisive moment came in the 82nd minute. Micky van de Ven collected a fast ball forward from Maddison. He skipped past Maxime Esteve and wrong footed Dara O'Shea before slotting the ball into the bottom left corner, ending Tottenham’s losing streak and Burnley’s hopes of survival.

After the match, when asked about Micky van de Ven’s impact, Ange Postecoglou, in an delightfully understated reflection said: ‘He’s not a bad player’.

When Vincent Kompany was interviewed, he was characteristically philosophical about the result saying: Day one of the next season starts now and I’m looking forward to that as well.

Final score: Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1 Burnley

Manchester City hold their nerve

Just three days later, Spurs were back in action in another high stakes match. Spurs were in a battle with Villa for fourth place and a spot in the Champions league and they were playing against Manchester City who were chasing a record 4th consecutive Premier League title. If Spurs won or drew the match, they would have done huge favour for their biggest rivals Arsenal who were a point ahead but had played one match more. This led to some of the most bizarre conversations about football that I’ve ever heard. Arsenal fans were recorded saying that they would be supporting Spurs and some Spurs fans were talking about supporting Manchester City, saying that they would rather lose and miss out on Champions League football than see their neighbours lift the Premier League trophy.

So on Tuesday night, fans from four different clubs were watching to see how Manchester City were going to cope with the pressure at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

From kick off, it was clear that any concerns about helping their local rivals went out of the window. Ange Postecoglou was out for victory, playing a new box midfield formation with wide strikers. Spurs attacked from the off and had clear intent and in the first half, the champions looked nervous. City had the best chances, but Spurs defended well and the half finished without any goals. And then in the second half, City broke through. It took the combined efforts of Bernardo Silva who fired forwards from the edge of the box, Kevin De Bruyne who shot the ball across the goal mouth and Erling Haaland who timed his run to perfection to score with a tap in.

For the remainder of the match, Spurs kept the pressure on and very nearly equalised several times. Their best chance came when Son Heung Min ran onto the ball and charged at the goal, one on one with Ortega who had come on as a substitute. Ortega held his ground and his nerve and blocked the Spurs Skipper’s shot, saving the champion’s lead.
In the 89th minute, Pedro Porro brought down Jeremy Doku in the penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot. Haaland stepped up and buried the ball into the top left corner of the net, giving Vicario no chance.

Final score: Tottenham Hotspur 0 - 2 Manchester City

Language challenge

Right, now it’s time for you to think about this language again. I have used AI to come up with examples of today’s words and phrases. I have removed the vocabulary from the stories so I want you to fill in the gaps with the correct forms of the language from the podcast.

Question 1. The sudden, ______________ appearance of crop circles in the field sparked rumours of alien activity.

Question 2. She wore an _____________ necklace that complemented her outfit without drawing too much attention.

Question 3. The team's strategy _____________ when their star player got injured in the first half.

Question 4. The young pianist ________________ and performed flawlessly in front of the large audience.

Question 5. In the middle of the presentation, he ___________ a statistic that caught everyone's attention and supported his point.

Question 6. After failing the exam, he remained ______________ about his performance, seeing it as a stepping stone rather than a setback.

Leave your answers to this language challenge in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Football phrase

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

This week, the football phrase is *********. This describes the way that a manager positions their players on the pitch. Sometimes, these are described as numbers, so some managers are said to favour a 4-4-2 ********* while others might prefer a 3-2-4-1 *********.

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

I said earlier that I have a favour to ask of you. You see, we’re at the end of the season and at this time of year, I often spend some time thinking up new ideas for podcast topics. When I don’t have Premier League football to talk about, I can get a bit lost and so I would love to hear from you about any topics or ideas for podcasts that you might have. Is there any aspect of football or life in the UK that you’d like me to talk about? Are there any topics of vocabulary that you’d like to hear about or that you think would be useful for other football loving English language learners? I would be delighted to make some podcasts based on your suggestions so if there’s anything you can think of, please leave me a comment in the section on the bottom of the page for this podcast on the Premier Skills English website. Thanks in advance.

Before I finish, I am going to go through the answers to last week’s language challenge.

Question 1. She committed to running a marathon next year, starting her training immediately.

Question 2. The pilot's reactions helped avoid a potential disaster during the turbulent flight.

Question 3. The kitten managed to tangle itself in the ball of string, making a cute but chaotic mess.

Question 4. In frustration, he slammed his fist against the wall, leaving a small dent.

Question 5. As the storm clouds gathered and it started to rain, their hopes of having the outdoor concert were dashed.

Question 6. The fighter jets were scrambled to intercept an unidentified aircraft that had entered restricted airspace.

Question 7. She approached her challenges with a spirit that inspired everyone around her.

Question 8. He darted down the alley, trying to escape the pursuers who were close behind.

Question 9. The announcement of the extended deadline meant that the team's hopes were lifted; they now had more time to perfect their project.

And 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 everyone stays fit and healthy and safe.

Bye for now and enjoy your football.