Matchweek 23

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 brilliant games in Matchweek 23 so let’s get on with this week’s round up!

Headlines

Rich: City’s unbeaten run ended by Liverpool!

Jack: Manchester City fell to their first defeat of the season in a thrilling match against Liverpool. The Reds won the game 4-3. Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain opened the scoring for the Reds but Leroy Sane equalised just before half-time for City. In the second half, three goals in 9 minutes from Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah put the home team in charge. But City scored twice to set up a nervy finish but Liverpool hung on to end City’s unbeaten start to the season. 

Rich: The Hurrikane shows no signs of stopping.

Jack: Harry Kane scored another two goals as Tottenham beat Everton 4-0. Kane is now Tottenham’s highest scorer in Premier League history. His 97th and 98th goals for the club helped Spurs to victory and keeps them in the hunt for a Champions League place. 

Rich: A helping hand for Watford against Southampton.

Jack: Watford scored a last-minute equaliser for Watford at home to Southampton but the goal shouldn’t have been allowed. Abdoulaye Doucoure put the ball in the net with his hand. In the week that virtual assistant referees or VAR were tried for the first time in English football, it will be disappointing for Southampton that VAR wasn’t being used at this game. The match finished 2-2.

Definition Alert!

Rich: City scored twice to set up a nervy finish but Liverpool hang on. Set up and hang on; these are interesting expressions. What do they mean?

Jack: Both to set up and to hang on are phrasal verbs and they are quite common in a football context. To set up in this sentence means to make something happen. Liverpool were winning 4-1. Liverpool were confident. Then, City scored two goals. Liverpool became nervous that City would equalise. So, City’s two goals set up a nervy finish.

Rich: Got it. This phrasal verb is also used in football to mean provide an assist. For example, Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min set up Harry Kane for his first goal. This means that Son passed it to Kane.

Jack: And we also have Liverpool hung on. To hang on means to continue to do something when it is difficult. When Liverpool were winning 4-1 they were not hanging on but when it was 4-3 and City were attacking they were definitely hanging on.

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. Let’s start with our Player of the Week. There were some great individual performances in the Premier League last week.

Jack: Yes, there were. West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic were great as the Hammers er … hammered Huddersfield 4-1.

Rich: Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min were fantastic for Spurs and there were some good performances by Leicester defenders as they got a goalless draw against Chelsea.

Jack: But as Liverpool are the first team to beat City this season we have to give it to a Liverpool player. Over to you Rich.

Rich: Lots of players to choose from and Liverpool didn’t miss Coutinho. Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but our Player of the Week goes to Sadio Mane.

Jack: You could have chosen any of those four really, they all played well. Right, our next award is for Team of the Week. There were good wins for Liverpool, West Ham, Palace, Spurs and Bournemouth but our Team of the Week is West Bromwich Albion.

Rich: Great choice. West Brom beat Brighton 2-0 but more importantly it was their first win for 20 Premier League matches. Their last win was in August so well done to them!

Jack: Finally, what about Match of the Week?

Rich: Our Match of the Week this week is … Liverpool v Manchester City. It has to be. A 4-3 thriller. And the right result!

Jack: The right result?

Rich: Well, for me anyway!

Fantasy Football

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

Jack: The top scoring player in matchweek 23 was West Ham’s Marko Arnautovic with 16 points. Did you have him in your team?

Rich: He wasn’t in the Premier Skills team who had a very bad week - only 14 points so far although we have Paul Pogba as captain and he plays tonight. 

Jack: The leader in the Premier Skills League is still Gerardo Lopez from Mexico. He’s been leading the league for five match weeks now. Can anyone stop him?

Matchweek Prediction

Jack: Last week’s prediction was Liverpool v Manchester City and I thought City would win and Rich thought it would finish in a draw.

Rich: I’m very happy I got last week’s prediction wrong. A few of our listeners thought Liverpool would win though. Well done to Haruyuki from Japan and Ahmed Adam from Sudan. You were both confident that Liverpool would win.

Jack: What’s this week’s prediction, Rich?

Rich: This week’s prediction is the London Derby between Arsenal and Crystal Palace. Arsenal really need to bounce back from defeat against Bournemouth last week. Palace are fighting against relegation and have been improving under their new manager - Roy Hodgson. If Arsenal are not careful they could fall too far behind in the race for the Champions League so need to win this one. I think they will - just. Final score: Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace. 

Jack: I think this will be an easy Arsenal win. 3-0.

Rich: We’ll see … we want you to make your prediction at the bottom of the page on the website. Are you a good predictor? 

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

Rich: Don’t forget to join the discussion at the bottom of this page.