Matchweek 7: Outfoxed

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 seven with our headlines.

Headlines

Jack: City and Liverpool win on their travels.

Rich: The Premier League favourites both secured difficult away wins last weekend. Liverpool were fortunate to win 1-0 at Sheffield United. A howler from the home goalkeeper when he allowed a tame Geroginio Wijnaldum shot to squirm through his legs gave the Reds victory. Manchester City won 3-1 at Everton. Gabriel Jesus scored the opener but Everton equalised and City didn’t make it safe until Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling scored in the final 20 minutes.

Jack: Leicester outfox the Magpies.

Rich: Leicester City thrashed Newcastle 5-0 to move up to third place in the Premier League. The Foxes scored through a Jamie Vardy brace, an own goal, Ricardo Periera and Wilfried Ndidi. Newcastle also had a man sent off and after the match, the manager, Steve Bruce, said his team surrendered far too easily.

Jack: United and Arsenal finishes all-square.

Rich: Manchester United and Arsenal drew one all in a Monday night stalemate. United opened the scoring when Scott McTominay scored from outside the box. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got a second-half equaliser. Arsenal are up to fourth but United are down in tenth place which is their worst start to a season for thirty years.

Jack: Liverpool only just beat Sheffield United.

Rich: I know. I think it was their most difficult match of the season.

Jack: There were also good wins for Tottenham, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and ... Wolves - it was their first win of the season.

Vocabulary alert!

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

Jack: We have some interesting phrases this week. Our six phrases are: a howler, a tame shot, to squirm through, to outfox, all-square and stalemate.

Rich: Let’s start with the one that is the strangest and probably the most difficult. The phrase is to squirm through. We said the ball squirmed through the goalkeeper’s legs.

Jack: To squirm means to move from side to side in an awkward way, usually because of pain or embarrassment. It’s what a worm or a timid snake does if you pick it up. 

Rich: When a ball squirms through a goalkeeper’s legs it’s similar. The ball moves slowly and squeezes through the legs. It’s awkward and embarrassing for the goalkeeper. We could also say a ball squirmed through the hands of a goalkeeper. It’s usually used to describe a big mistake.  

Jack: A big mistake or error can be described as ‘a howler’. We spoke about a howler from the goalkeeper when he allowed a ball to squirm through his legs.

Rich: Yes, it was a very tame shot from Georginio Wijnaldum. We usually use the adjective tame to describe animals that are not wild. In football, it’s used to describe a shot with no power.

Jack: Yes, we use the word ‘wild’ to describe shots too. A wild shot is one that has lots of power but is nowhere near the goal.

Rich: The next phrase is to outfox someone.  We used this in the second headline when we said Leicester outfox Magpies. 

Jack: To outfox someone means to gain an advantage over someone by being cleverer than them. In football, this is connected to tactics. Leicester City outfoxed Newcastle, they were cleverer than them and won the game.

Rich: Of course, Leicester CIty’s nickname is also the Foxes so we were also playing with the double meaning there.

Jack: The next phrase is all-square. Arsenal against Manchester United finished all-square. This is an easy one - it means the match finished in a draw.

Rich: And the final phrase is stalemate. This also describes a match that finishes without a winner but is often also used to describe a match that was a bit boring. The phrase comes from the game of chess to describe a game where neither player can win.

Jack: I didn’t think it was boring. It was a good point for Arsenal.

Rich: Yeah, but I did and I said it.

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 howler, a tame shot, to squirm through, to outfox, all-square and stalemate.

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. It’s a difficult choice this week. We won’t be picking Dean Henderson or Hugo Lloris after their goalkeeping howlers that’s for sure.

Jack: What about Willian for Chelsea? He had a good game. Or maybe Man City’s Riyad Mahrez?

Rich: They had good games but we’re going to go with Leicester City’s Ricardo Pereira. A clean sheet and a wonderful goal for the defender.

Jack: Good choice. Our next award is for Team of the Week.

Rich: Another easy choice this week. Leicester City were superb in their 5-0 win against Newcastle.

Jack: 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. Rich.

Rich: Goal number one: Ricardo Pereira for Leicester City against Newcastle. A brilliant run and finish with his weaker foot.

Jack: Goal number two: Riyad Mahrez for Manchester City versus Everton. A stunning free-kick into the bottom corner.

Rich: Goal number three: Andriy Yarmolenko for West Ham v Bournemouth. A well-taken goal and a third in six for the Ukranian forward.

Jack: 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 

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

Jack: And, before you look at this week’s match, you want to read out something from last week’s prediction, don’t you?

Rich: Yes.

Jack: Go on then.

Rich: I just want to say that I predicted Manchester United against Arsenal would finish in a 1-1 stalemate and Aubameyang would score.

Jack: Yes, you were spot on. Everybody gets one right now and again. I’ll be more impressed if you get two right in a row.

Rich: This week’s prediction is first against third. Liverpool against Leicester City. The Foxes have surprised a few already this season and the ex-Liverpool manager, Brendan Rogers, will want to beat his old team. I think Leicester will take a shock lead at Anfield, probably Jamie Vardy, but Liverpool will come back in the second half and win. Final score: Liverpool 2-1 Leicester City

Jack: Let’s wait and see. 

Rich: You can make your predictions on the Premier Skills English website in the comments section and talk about the big match at the same time!

Jack: Remember we also have some questions for you to answer that give you a chance to use this week’s vocabulary.

Rich: 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. 

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

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.