Matchweek 12: A Thunderbolt

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.

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

Rich: 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.

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

Rich: Let’s start our round-up of Matchweek twelve with our headlines.

Headlines

Jack: The Reds look unstoppable at the top.

Rich: Liverpool were convincing winners in their top of the table clash against Manchester City. A thunderbolt from Fabinho gave the Reds an early lead and Mohamed Salah’s header made it 2-0 following a quick counter-attack. Sadio Mane scored at the beginning of the second half to make the game safe despite a late Manchester City onslaught and a fine consolation goal from Bernardo Silva.

Jack: Foxes up to second.

Rich: Leicester City moved up to second place in the Premier League after two second-half goals gave them victory at home to Arsenal. Jamie Vardy broke the deadlock after 68 minutes with his 11th of the season. The Premier League’s top scorer turned provider in the 75th minute when he set up James Maddison for goal number two.

Jack: Chelsea make it six out of six.

Rich: Chelsea won for the sixth time in a row for the first time since winning the title in 2016/17. Tammy Abraham made the breakthrough against Crystal Palace with his 10th of the season and Christian Pulisic made it two with a header a few minutes later. Chelsea are up to third and flying under the management of Frank Lampard.

Jack: There were also good wins for Burnley, Newcastle, Everton, Wolves and Manchester United and a big well done to Watford who got their first win of the season and moved off the bottom of the Premier League table.

Rich: What about Liverpool hey? Eight points clear of second, nine points clear of City. Could this be the season they finally win the Premier League?

Jack: It’s looking good but I don’t think they’ll be counting their chickens just yet.

Rich: What a great phrase - counting your chickens. I think you’ll have to explain that one.

Jack: It means to think about something that hasn’t happened yet as certain to happen. So, Liverpool are not celebrating yet because there is still a long way to go in the season.

Rich: The full phrase is actually counted your chickens before they’re hatched. See if you can get that English phrase into a conversation with friends or in our comments section at the bottom of the page!

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: a thunderbolt, a counter-attack, to break the deadlock, to set up, in a row and to make the breakthrough.

Jack: Let’s start with the phrases we used to talk about the Liverpool - Manchester City match. We said that Fabinho scored with a thunderbolt.

Rich: A thunderbolt is a flash of lightning that comes down from the sky and hits something when there is a storm.

Jack: A thunderbolt is very powerful so we use the word to describe a very powerful shot - usually from outside the penalty area.

Rich: The next phrase is a counter-attack. We use this to describe a team that was defending and then attacks very quickly. We can use it as a noun or a verb. 

Jack: Liverpool counter-attacked quickly and Mohamed Salah scored or Mohamed scored following a quick counter-attack.

Rich: Our next two phrases come from the Leicester City - Arsenal match. We said Jamie Vardy broke the deadlock. To break the deadlock is used to describe the player or team that scores after two teams have been level for a long time.

Jack: The phrase is often used a lot in politics or business when two groups are trying to agree something that is very difficult to agree to. 

Rich: The next phrase is to set up. This is a phrasal verb we use which means to provide an assist. Jamie Vardy set up James Maddison. Vardy passed the ball to Maddison who scored.

Jack: When we use a verb we usually say assist. The player has ten assists this season. We don’t usually use the verb ‘to assist’ when talking about football. We use ‘set up’ Vardy set up the goal for Maddison. 

Rich: Our final two phrases come from the Chelsea - Crystal Palace match. The first is to make the breakthrough and this is very similar to break the deadlock which we’ve already looked at.

Jack: I suppose the main difference is that we use break the deadlock when two teams are playing at a similar level but we usually use make the breakthrough when one team has been attacking and the other defending for a long time.

Rich: Chelsea finally made the breakthrough in the second half or Chelsea finally broke through Palace’s defence.

Jack: Our final phrase this week is in a row. Chelsea have won six Premier League matches in a row. This means they have won six consecutive matches. 

Rich: They haven’t lost or drawn in their last six matches - only won. Chelsea are doing very well at the moment.

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: a thunderbolt, a counter-attack, to break the deadlock, to set up, in a row and to make the breakthrough.

Football Awards

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

Rich: The awards are Player of the Week, Team of the Week and Goal of the Week.

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

Rich: Let’s start with Player of the Week. Jamie Vardy got another goal and an assist for Leicester, Marcus Rashford was superb for Manchester United and Mateo Kovacic was brilliant for Chelsea.

Jack: But our Player of the Week is Liverpool’s Fabinho. The award is not just for his thunderbolt in the sixth minute but his all-round midfield display.

Rich: Now Team of the Week. Manchester United had their best win of the season according to Ole Gunnar SOlskjaer, Chelsea have won six, Liverpool were brilliant and Burnley has the biggest win of the weekend.

Jack: But our Team of the Week is Watford who finally got their first win of the season at the twelfth time of asking.

Rich:  Finally, our Goal of the Week. We’re going to leave this one to you. We’re going to give you three options and you need to tell us which you think was best.

Jack: Goal number one: Fabinho for Liverpool against Manchester City. A thunderbolt from outside the box to set Liverpool on their way.

Rich: Goal number two: Mohamed Salah for Liverpool v Manchester City. A fast counter-attack, a great cross from Robertson and a nice header from Salah.

Jack: Goal number three: Ruben Neves for Wolves versus Aston Villa. A clever free-kick from Joao Moutinho allowed Neves to hit a sweet strike into the bottom corner and help Wolves win the West Midlands Derby.

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.

Rich: Last week I went for a draw between Liverpool and City but I’m not too unhappy. 

Jack: I bet you’re not. There is an international break this weekend so your next prediction for Matchweek 13, is in two weeks’ time.

Rich: That’s right. Matchweek thirteen’s big match is Manchester City against Chelsea. City have fallen down to fourth place after defeat against Liverpool and Chelsea are up to third after winning six matches in a row. A trip to the Etihad, however, is a true test of this Chelsea team and Frank Lampard’s managerial credentials. Chelsea will be adventurous as they have been all season so I see goals in this one but I think City will be hurt after losing to Liverpool and will win this one. Final score: Manchester City 3-2 Chelsea.

Jack: Should be a good game this one. I’d like to see a four-all draw.

Rich: Let us know in the comments section what you think the score will be.

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 on the Premier Skills English website. 

Rich: If you listen to us on Apple Podcasts, don’t forget to leave us a review. We’d love to hear from you.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football.