Matchweek 15 - A two-horse race
Matchweek 15 - A two-horse race
Welcome to This Week from Premier Skills English, a weekly review of football action for learners of English from across the globe. In This Week, Jack and Rich talk about the latest action from the Premier League. They keep you up to date with our prediction competition and have lots of football English for you to learn.
Transcript
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. This week there was an extra round of Premier League matches in midweek so we’re back with an extra episode of football and English.
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 with our midweek headlines!
Headlines
Jack: City hold on to beat Watford.
Rich: Manchester City survived a late Watford onslaught to win for the thirteenth time in fifteen games in the Premier League this season. Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez made things comfortable for City but Watford got a goal in the 85th minute to and it was a nervous finish for the league leaders.
Jack: Liverpool leave it late against Burnley.
Rich: A much-changed Liverpool team fell behind in the 54th-minute but a James Milner Strike levelled things up. Roberto Firmino scored with his first touch after coming off the bench. Xherdan Shaqiri made sure Liverpool took all three points in injury time.
Jack: Arsenal against United finish all-square.
Rich: Manchester United equalised twice as both teams had to settle for a two-all draw. A mistake by David De Gea allowed Arsenal to score the opening goal but Anthony Martial scored soon after. Another error, this time by Marcos Rojo allowed Alexandre LAcazette to score but Jesse equalised just moments later and that’s how it finished.
Jack: Do you think it’s a two-horse race for the title now?
Rich: With Chelsea losing to Wolves there’s a gap between the top two and the rest but I think it’s a bit early to write off the rest, yet.
Vocabulary alert!
Rich: In our vocabulary alert, we look at some football English that we used in the headlines.
Jack: The words are: to hold on, onslaught, to come off the bench, all-square, a two-horse race and to write off.
Rich: Some unusual words here. Let’s start with to hold on. This means to survive in a dangerous situation. We use it when one team is defending a lot but the attacking team doesn’t score.
Jack: When the other team is attacking a lot we can use the word onslaught. Manchester City survived a Watford onslaught. In general, it means a violent attack and it has the same meaning here but without the violence!
Rich: Roberto Firmino came off the bench to score. To come off the bench means to play as a substitute. The bench is the substitutes’ bench - what the substitutes sit on.
Jack: The next phrase is all-square. This means to have equal points in a game so it’s used to describe a draw. Arsenal against United finished all-square. It finished 2-2. A draw.
Rich: The next phrase is a two-horse race. We use this phrase when there are lots of teams that can theoretically win a competition but the reality is that only two can. Do you think the Premier League is a two-horse race this season?
Jack: And the last phrase is to write off which is a phrasal verb. In the headlines, to write off means it’s not worth paying any attention to something because they are not going to win.
Rich: Have a think about these six phrases and see if you can use any of them in the comments section.
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: We’re going to do these midweek awards very quickly. Rich - over to you.
Rich: OK, our Player of Matchweek 15 is Liverpool’s, James Milner. He got Liverpool back into the match against Burnley with a good goal. Milner always works hard for the team whether he is in midfield or at left-back. In this match, he played both positions. Right, our Team of Matchweek 15 is Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves hadn’t won for seven matches so a comeback win against Chelsea was a great performance. Finally, our Goal of Matchweek 15 goes to Florin Andone, Brighton’s Romanian striker. Andone ran half the length of the pitch to score. A stunning strike and worth checking out if you haven’t seen it.
Matchweek Prediction
Jack: This is our second prediction this week so you only have a couple of days to make your predictions. You need to be quick!
Rich: The big match is Chelsea v Manchester City. City are of course on fire. They are top of the league and haven’t lost this season. Chelsea lost to Wolves in their last game and are experiencing their first run of bad form under Maurizio Sarri. City looked a little nervous at the end of their last game and I think Chelsea have a chance at home but I think City will win. Final score: Chelsea 1-2 Manchester City.
Jack: I think this match will finish all-square. We shouldn’t write Chelsea off yet. I’m going for a one all draw.
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.
Results
Matchweek 15:
Bournemouth 2-1 Huddersfield
Watford 1-2 Manchester City
Brighton 3-1 Crystal Palace
West Ham 3-1 Cardiff City
Burnley 1-3 Liverpool
Everton 1-1 Newcastle Utd
Fulham 1-1 Leicester City
Wolves 2-1 Chelsea
Manchester Utd 2-2 Arsenal
Tottenham 3-1 Southampton
Vocabulary Alert
Football English
We looked at six words and phrases in this episode. Take a look at the words in bold. Do you undertand what they mean?
Roberto Firmino scored with his first touch after coming off the bench.
Manchester City survived a late Watford onslaught to hold on for the win.
Do you think the Premier League is a two-horse race this season?
Arsenal against United finished all-square. It finished 2-2. A draw.
There’s a gap between the top two and the rest, but I think it’s a bit early to write off the rest, yet.
Can you use the words in bold in a different sentence? Write a sentence at the bottom of the page. If you're not sure, listen to the audio for more explanations and examples.
Matchweek Awards
Do you agree with our choices?
Player of the Week: James Milner (Liverpool)
Team of the Week: Wolverhampton Wanderers
Goal of the Week: Florin Andone (Brighton)
The Big Match
Chelsea v Manchester City
Rich's prediction for Matchweek sixteen is the match between Chelsea and Manchester City. Rich has predicted a 2-1 win for City while Jack has gone for a 1-1 draw.
What is your prediction? Have a listen to what Rich and Jack say and then enter our prediction competition below. You get one point for the correct result and three points for predicting the exact score.
Where are you in our prediction league?
Who will be our Premier League Prediction Champion?
Form
Premier League Prediction: Chelsea v Manchester City
Use this form to make your prediction. You can only make one prediction so take care! When you have made your predictions, the form will vanish.
You need to be logged in to make your prediction!
Check out the league table for our prediction competition. What position are you in?
Four Questions
What do you think?
Jack and Rich have spoken about Matchweek 15 in the Premier League. Now it's your turn! Have a look at the questions and write your answers in the comments section below.
- Rich and Jack chose James Milner of Liverpool as Player of the Week. Do you agree?
- Jack and Rich selected Wolves as their Team of the Week. Do you agree?
- Rich picked Florin Andone's goal for Brighton as Goal of the Week? Did you see it? Do you agree?
- Use this week's vocabulary: Do you think it's a two-horse race for the Premier League? Who came off the bench to score in Matchweek 15?
Don't forget to make your prediction for this week's Big Match!
Let's get the conversation started and create a community!
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Comments
05/03/2022
points
Phrases
• Military onslaught held against occupants to protect motherland finished with a victory.
• Annual amortization amount should be written off from the value of intangible assets.
05/03/2022 17:09
Tottenham Hotspur
5558
Phrases
• Military onslaught held against occupants to protect motherland finished with a victory.
• Annual amortization amount should be written off from the value of intangible assets.
08/12/2018
points
Great choices for this matchweek. Andone's goal was amazing.
Not only Firmino came off the bench to score, but also Andone and Balogun, both for Brighton.
If Chelsea don't defeat City in Matchweek 16, I'll think definitely it's a two-horse race this season.
08/12/2018 14:53
Tottenham Hotspur
615
Great choices for this matchweek. Andone's goal was amazing.
Not only Firmino came off the bench to score, but also Andone and Balogun, both for Brighton.
If Chelsea don't defeat City in Matchweek 16, I'll think definitely it's a two-horse race this season.
08/12/2018
points
Are Chelsea back in the race or did the result just help Liverpool?
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
08/12/2018 19:27
Liverpool
594
Are Chelsea back in the race or did the result just help Liverpool?
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
14/12/2018
points
Well, I still don't write Chelsea off, nor Spurs or Arsenal, but this result helped Liverpool a lot.
14/12/2018 22:13
Tottenham Hotspur
615
Well, I still don't write Chelsea off, nor Spurs or Arsenal, but this result helped Liverpool a lot.
08/12/2018
points
-I don't know what happend during match week 15. So, I'll not judge about your choices.
- Premier League is known by high competitive games between at least five or six teams. Unfrotunately, this season it becomes a two-horse race.
3- Came off the bench to score is very wonderfull for both the plyer and the team, it will give the player more confidence and it gives the team more choices.
08/12/2018 14:06
Liverpool
325
-I don't know what happend during match week 15. So, I'll not judge about your choices.
- Premier League is known by high competitive games between at least five or six teams. Unfrotunately, this season it becomes a two-horse race.
3- Came off the bench to score is very wonderfull for both the plyer and the team, it will give the player more confidence and it gives the team more choices.
08/12/2018
points
Chelsea just beat City 2-0. Maybe we shouldn't write them, off. yet!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
08/12/2018 19:26
Liverpool
594
Chelsea just beat City 2-0. Maybe we shouldn't write them, off. yet!
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
07/12/2018
points
Correct me, please!
1. Yes, James Milner
isabsolutely deserves the Player of the Week. He has great skills, and always works hard on the pitch.2. I think all Wolves' fans are over the moon with their win against Chelsea. Especially as they came from behind to win this match. I agree with you, of course.
3. It's a sensational solo goal, he has great speed. It's amazing and deserves
forthetitleaward4. There's a gap between the top 2 and the rest. With the performances of Manchester City and Liverpool from the start of this season, I can't see any other team that can catch
upthem up. Maybe we have Chelsea if they can win against Manchester CIty this weekend, but as you mentioned, It's so difficult at the moment.07/12/2018 20:07
Manchester City
1122
Correct me, please!
1. Yes, James Milner
isabsolutely deserves the Player of the Week. He has great skills, and always works hard on the pitch.2. I think all Wolves' fans are over the moon with their win against Chelsea. Especially as they came from behind to win this match. I agree with you, of course.
3. It's a sensational solo goal, he has great speed. It's amazing and deserves
forthetitleaward4. There's a gap between the top 2 and the rest. With the performances of Manchester City and Liverpool from the start of this season, I can't see any other team that can catch
upthem up. Maybe we have Chelsea if they can win against Manchester CIty this weekend, but as you mentioned, It's so difficult at the moment.08/12/2018
points
Hi Thaitn,
I've made a few corrections. Remember to add the third person 's' to your verbs! Chelsea have just beaten City 2-0. Do you think they still have a chance?
Rich - THe Premier Skills English Team
08/12/2018 19:34
Liverpool
594
Hi Thaitn,
I've made a few corrections. Remember to add the third person 's' to your verbs! Chelsea have just beaten City 2-0. Do you think they still have a chance?
Rich - THe Premier Skills English Team
09/12/2018
points
Correct me
Thank you Rich.
Maybe, you are over the moon now, because Liverpool is on the top of the league table.
I hope Manchester City will strongly bounce back after this loss. They have lots of good players, but some of the greatest ones have been injured. We all miss Aguero and De Bruyne more than ever.
Of course, Chelsea played so well, well done to them, specially Kante. 70% of Earth is covered by water, the rest is covered by N'golo Kante.
09/12/2018 20:23
Manchester City
1122
Correct me
Thank you Rich.
Maybe, you are over the moon now, because Liverpool is on the top of the league table.
I hope Manchester City will strongly bounce back after this loss. They have lots of good players, but some of the greatest ones have been injured. We all miss Aguero and De Bruyne more than ever.
Of course, Chelsea played so well, well done to them, specially Kante. 70% of Earth is covered by water, the rest is covered by N'golo Kante.
07/12/2018
points
1. James Milner as player of the week is well fitted. Great skills and behaviour on the pitch.
2. It is not easy to beat Chelsea this season so congratulations Wolverhampton Wanderers.
3. I didn't see the one Florin Andone scored but I enjoyed Mahrez winner for City.
4. At this step it seems that two teams are ahead all others but we wouldn't hurry in writing off Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal and Man United. All of these can keep on running for the title.
07/12/2018 17:40
Manchester City
3988
1. James Milner as player of the week is well fitted. Great skills and behaviour on the pitch.
2. It is not easy to beat Chelsea this season so congratulations Wolverhampton Wanderers.
3. I didn't see the one Florin Andone scored but I enjoyed Mahrez winner for City.
4. At this step it seems that two teams are ahead all others but we wouldn't hurry in writing off Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal and Man United. All of these can keep on running for the title.