Matchweek 22 - Smash and Grab

Introduction  

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

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

Rich: We want you to use and practise these phrases by interacting with Premier League fans from around the world in our comments section.

Jack: If you listen to us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, you can leave your comments in the review section. We do read all the reviews and would love to hear from you.

Rich: You can find all our latest content on the Premier Skills English homepage or the Premier Skills-British Council Facebook page. 

Jack: Let’s start with our headlines!

Headlines

Rich: United make it six out of six under Ole.

Jack: Manchester United snatched a 1-0 win away at Tottenham to make it six wins in a row under new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It was a superb winner. Paul Pogba played a brilliant long pass and Marcus Rashford showed great composure to beat Hugo Lloris. However, the reality was that it was a bit of a smash and grab. United scored a breakaway goal and David De Gea made an astonishing 11 saves in the match - the most he has ever made in the Premier League when keeping a clean sheet.

Rich: Liverpool edge out Brighton.

Jack: Liverpool weren’t at full throttle but a Mohamed Salah penalty was enough for Liverpool to win the match and extend their lead at the top to seven points. Liverpool struggled to create chances but were never really threatened by the Seagulls. 

Rich: Burnley win with no shots on target.

Jack: Burnley moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win at home to Fulham. Burnley fell behind when Fulham’s World Cup Winner, Andre Schurrle. But, two own goals in the first half put Burnley in control and despite not having one shot on target in the entire match it was Burnley who took all three points.

Rich: Guess what Burnley manager Sean Dyche said about his team’s performance.

Jack: I heard. He said they were lucky. 

Vocabulary alert!

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

Jack: Our six words and phrases this week all come from the headline about the Tottenham - Manchester United match. The six words and phrases are: composure, a clean sheet, in a row, to snatch, a breakaway goal, and a smash and grab.

Rich: Let’s start with the word composure. We said Marcus Rashford showed great composure to beat Hugo Lloris. 

Jack: Composure is the quality of staying calm under pressure. Rashford controlled the ball and put it past the goalkeeper. He didn’t panic and shoot wide or over the top - he was very composed - he showed great composure.

Rich: David De Ge made 11 saves and kept a clean sheet. To keep a clean sheet is an expression we use to mean a team didn’t concede a goal.

Jack: Manchester United have won six matches in a row. In a row is a phrase we use to say that the same thing happens each time with nothing different in between.

Rich: United have won each of their last six matches. They’ve won six matches in a row.

Jack: The next word is snatch. Manchester United snatched a 1-0 win against Tottenham.

Rich: To snatch means to take something from someone else often with a little aggression and without asking.

Jack: In football, we say a team snatched a win when they possibly didn’t really deserve it.

Rich: The next phrase is a breakaway goal. This type of goal is one where a team have been defending a lot and suddenly attack quickly and score.

Jack: Manchester United scored a breakaway goal against Tottenham.

Rich: The final phrase is a smash and grab. Grab is a similar word to snatch which we’ve just looked at it means to take quickly often without asking.

Jack: A smash and grab win usually describes a victory by a team who defended a lot and scored a breakaway goal.

Rich: Just like Manchester United against Tottenham.

Jack: Exactly. 

Football Awards

Rich: Right, every week, we give out three Matchweek awards. 

Jack: 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. There were some strong performances in the Premier League last weekend. 

Rich: Virgil van Dijk was solid at the back for Liverpool, Willian was great for Chelsea and Declan Rice is a promising young player for West Ham who scored his first ever Premier League goal at the weekend.

Jack: But our Player of the Week has to be Manchester Utd’s David De Gea. He was magnificent for United and was the main reason that his side finished with all three points.

Rich: What about our Team of the Week? A really difficult choice this week. United and Liverpool both won one nil but our choice of Team of the Week goes to another team that won by the same scoreline: West Ham United. The Hammers beat Arsenal and are our Team of the Week,

Jack: Finally, Goal of the Week. Marcus Rashford’s goal was excellent as was Declan Rice’s for West Ham but our GOal of the Week goes to Fulham’s Andre Schurlle. A volley that deserved to win any game - just a pity that it didn’t manage to earn his team any points at all.

Matchweek Prediction 

Jack: Every week, Rich predicts the result of one Premier League match and we want you to make your prediction, too.

Rich: It’s Matchweek 23 and the big match this weekend is Arsenal v Chelsea. It’s another London derby for Arsenal and they will be looking to bounce back from defeat against West Ham last weekend. Chelsea are in fourth place and the last Champions League spot. There are six points between Chelsea and Arsenal now so it’s a big game for Arsenal and they need a win. Chelsea have been much better at home than away this season so I fancy Arsenal to get a win in this one. Final score: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea.

Jack: I agree with you Rich, but I’m going for a 2-0 win to Arsenal.

Rich: We will see. Make your predictions on the page below. You get one point if you predict the right result and three points if you predict the right score.

Jack: 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. 

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.