This Week: In sight of the summit

Hello my name’s Jack and welcome to the weekly round-up called This Week on Premier Skills English.

In This Week, we’ve got lots of interesting words and phrases to help you talk about football in English.

If you are listening to this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify you can also visit the Premier Skills English website at britishcouncil.org/premierskillsenglish where you’ll be able to download the podcast.

This week, I’ve got three stories for you. I’m going to start with Liverpool’s trip to Newcastle and then I’ll talk about Manchester United hosting Leicester City and the third story is about West Ham United’s trip to North London to take on Tottenham Hotspur.

The words and phrases from the stories that I’m going to talk about this week are: at full throttle, dominant, to perfection, to manage to do something, acres of space, the summit, a mixed bag, to turn up the heat and to seal the win.

But before I get to this week’s stories, I want to give you the answer to last week’s football phrase. If you didn’t hear it last week, here’s one more chance to guess now.

Last week’s football phrase was *****. Last week on Wednesday, Manchester City travelled down to London to take on Arsenal at the Emirates in a top of the table ***** that could shape the rest of the season. When there’s a really important match between two very competitive teams you will often hear the meeting described as a *****.

It was a tough one this week and not that many people got it right so a special congratulations to Denis2000 from Belarus, Goku from Japan, Vietnguyenngo from Vietnam, Hierarchy 16 from Japan and Sisman74 from Turkey. The word I was looking for was clash.

Well done everybody else for having a go.Lots of people thought that the word was derby which is a good word for a very competitive match, but it is usually for teams from the same city or area. There are a couple of weird derbies, though, like the M23 Derby which is the name for the rivalry between Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion. These teams are not that close geographically. The M23 is the name of the road or motorway that the teams travel on when they play each other.

Now it’s time for this week’s first story. When you listen, I’d like you to try to answer the following question:

Who were the last team to beat Newcastle in a league match?

Liverpool break through at St James’ Park

When Newcastle United took to the field on Saturday, the players had a spring in their step. Newcastle have been in the best form for years, having not lost a match in 17 league games, not since the end of August when they were beaten at Anfield by Liverpool. The atmosphere in St James’ Park on Saturday was electric as the Magpies welcomed those old rivals and when the referee started the match, the home side started at full throttle, playing fast open football right from the off.

They looked dominant in those opening minutes until, against the run of play, Liverpool took the lead. Trent Alexander Arnold whipped the ball through for Darwin Nunez who controlled the ball beautifully before thumping it home.

Liverpool doubled their lead when Salah played the ball deep into the middle. Cody Gakpo timed his run to perfection and was able to control the ball with a touch before turning to score.

After 22 minutes, Newcastle’s keeper Nick Pope made a silly mistake when he was suddenly face-to-face with Mohamed Salah. Pope threw himself at the ball, forgetting he was well out of his area and controlled the ball with his hands. The referee did not hesitate to reach for his red card and Pope left the field.

Despite being a man down, the home team never gave up and forced some impressive saves from Alisson, but were not able to break through.

Final score: Newcastle United 0 - Liverpool 2

Before the story, I asked you:

Who were the last team to beat Newcastle in a league match?

The answer is: Liverpool. Before their match on Saturday, Newcastle’d had an amazing run of 17 league matches without defeat, stretching back to their last meeting with Liverpool.

The words and phrases from this story that I want to talk about are at full throttle, dominant, and to perfection.

The word throttle means the part of an engine that delivers fuel. It’s a valve that can be open a bit or it can be fully open. If it’s fully open, then the engine is running as fast or as powerfully as it can. The throttle in a car in British English is controlled by the accelerator pedal, in American English, this is the gas pedal. The idiom at full throttle means moving or performing a task with the maximum energy or power that you can. So when I said that Newcastle started at full throttle, I meant they were playing with the maximum energy and power so they were playing fast, energetic football.

The adjective dominant means more powerful than the other things that are the same. So if you are right handed, your right hand will be more dominant than your left hand. If you are in a group of people, usually, one person will be the most dominant, they will be the person who speaks the most and who seems to have the most say about things. Usually, a dominant person will make the most decisions and if there is some disagreement about something, the dominant person will get their way. The word is quite common in match reports because one team is often dominant in a match. The opposite, when two teams are equal, is well-matched. So if you’re watching a match and neither side is dominant, you could say that the teams are well-matched.

The noun perfection means complete and right in every way. If something is done to perfection, it means it’s done absolutely perfectly, that is in the best possible way. I think that the phrase is most often used to talk about how meat is cooked. You hear people say that a steak is grilled to perfection. This means that it has been cooked perfectly and if it were cooked for one second longer it would be overdone and if it were cooked for one second less it would be underdone. I said that Cody Gakpo timed his run to perfection. If he arrived sooner, he’d have been offside and if he arrived any later, he wouldn’t have been able to make the shot.

Now it’s time for this week’s second story. When you listen, I’d like you to try to answer the following question:

Which two players were denied by De Gea?

The Red Devils are within sight of the summit

Manchester United hosted Leicester City on Sunday and earned all three points with an impressive display. The first big chance of the game fell to Harvey Barnes who struck the ball well. Fortunately for the home side, De Gea did just as well to stop the shot.

Leicester were dominant for the first 25 minutes and came close to scoring again when a very accurate cross from Castagne set up Iheanacho who fired a powerful header at the goal, but De Gea was there again and managed to claw the ball away.

And then, suddenly, The Red Devils counterattacked and Rashford found himself running onto a brilliant through ball with acres of space. With only the keeper to beat, Rashford coolly chipped the ball over the keeper and into the goal, scoring in his fifth Premier League match in a row.

In the second half, Rashford scored again, with his 24th goal of the season in all competitions.

United’s third goal was a wonderful team effort. Rashford passed to Sancho who played through to Bruno Fernandes who crossed it right back for Sancho to power past Leicester’s keeper.

When the final whistle was blown, the home crowd were delighted as Manchester United was within five points of the summit.

Final score: Manchester United 3 - Leicester City 0

Before the story, I asked you:

Which two players were denied by De Gea?

The answer is: Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho who both challenged United’s keeper on Sunday.

The words from this story that I want to talk about are to manage to do something, acres of space and the summit.

To manage to do something means to be successful in doing something difficult. So if you face some difficulty in doing something, perhaps you are travelling somewhere and you are delayed or you have a really tough deadline, if you get where you want to go you might say I managed to get there, at last or if you completed your work and submitted it all by your deadline, you might say I managed to finish my work on time. I said that De Gea managed to claw the ball away, he was able to block Iheanacho’s header with a curved arm move. It was a powerful header so it wasn’t easy to block which is why I said he managed to claw the ball away.

I said that Rashford was running in acres of space. An acre is a measurement of area. It’s an old imperial measurement, though it’s still used in property listings when houses have really big gardens. An acre is about 4,000 m2 which is almost as big as a football pitch. So, when I said that Rashford was running in acres of space, it was an exaggeration. It couldn’t be literally true as there were other players on the pitch. But it’s a common exaggeration so I’m happy calling it an expression, meaning lots of space.

I said that United were within five points of the summit. Normally, we use the word summit to talk about the highest point on a mountain. It means the top of a mountain. In the Premier League, the summit is the top of the league. This is not a common expression for the top of the Premier League, but it’s commonly used to mean the highest point or the most successful moment in a person’s career so the use is more than a metaphor.

Now it’s time for this week’s third story. When you listen, I’d like you to try to answer the following question:

Who scored first for Spurs?

Son Heung-min seals the win

Tottenham Hotspur have been a mixed bag since october. In the previous 10 matches before Sunday, they’d won five, drawn one and lost four. And not particularly predictably, for example, beating Man City and losing to Aston Villa. So when West Ham United travelled to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, they might have wondered which version of Spurs they would be playing against.

In the first half, West Ham broke through Spurs defence on a few occasions, but did little to trouble Spurs’ goalkeeper Fraser Forster. But in the second half, the home side turned up the heat and took control of the match.

After 56 minutes, Hojberg played a beautiful through ball that Ben Davis was able to run on to. He held the ball for just long enough for Emerson Royal to run into the area. Davis rolled the ball into the path of Emerson who guided the ball home.

Son Heung-min started the match on the bench but was brought on after 68 minutes and within minutes had sealed the win after linking up with Harry Kane who delivered a good ball which Son made the most of with a fine finish.

Final score: Tottenham Hotspur 2 - West Ham United 0

Before the story, I asked you:

Who scored first for Spurs?

The answer is: Emerson Royal. Son Heung-min may have sealed the win, but Emerson scored their first goal.

The words from this story that I want to talk about are a mixed bag, to turn up the heat and to seal the win.

If something is a mixed bag, it’s a range of different things. We don’t have a bag expression for a collection of the same things, only mixed bags. I said that Spurs have been a mixed bag since October because their performances over the last few months have been very different. Some weeks they have played very well and other weeks they haven’t. The phrase is used for all sorts of things. You might hear of a group of people being described as a mixed bag if the people are all different or you might hear of an album from your favourite band being described as a mixed bag if the styles of songs on the album is very varied.

To turn up the heat means to try to force someone to do something by increasing the pressure or applying some other force. It’s usually used in a high stress or competitive environment where the pressure can be made more intense and the tasks being performed are more difficult. I said that Spurs turned up the heat, meaning they played with more intensity and energy. They put West Ham under more pressure.

The last phrase I want to talk about today is to seal the win. This is a phrase that we’ve covered before in the podcast, but it’s common in football English. It means to make a win safe or to remove the opponent’s ability to fight back. So when Son Heung-min scored Spurs second goal, West Ham had no real chance of winning the match. There were still 25 minutes on the clock, but the way that Spurs were playing made it an almost impossible challenge. Unless something very strange happened, Son’s goal was definitive and West Ham had lost; that goal had sealed the win. We also say seal the deal when an agreement is finalised. When the final negotiations are completed, you could say that the last move or offer sealed the deal.

OK, that's 9 words and phrases from the stories today. The words and phrases were: A mixed bag, to turn up the heat, to seal the win, to manage to do something, acres of space, the summit, at full throttle, dominant and to perfection. Listen to the stories one more time to hear the words and phrases in context.

Liverpool break through at St James’ Park

When Newcastle United took to the field on Saturday, the players had a spring in their step. Newcastle have been in the best form for years, having not lost a match in 17 league games, not since the end of August when they were beaten at Anfield by Liverpool. The atmosphere in St James’ Park on Saturday was electric as the Magpies welcomed those old rivals and when the referee started the match, the home side started at full throttle, playing fast open football right from the off.

They looked dominant in those opening minutes until, against the run of play, Liverpool took the lead. Trent Alexander Arnold whipped the ball through for Darwin Nunez who controlled the ball beautifully before thumping it home.

Liverpool doubled their lead when Salah played the ball deep into the middle. Cody Gakpo timed his run to perfection and was able to control the ball with a touch before turning to score.

After 22 minutes, Newcastle’s keeper Nick Pope made a silly mistake when he was suddenly face-to-face with Mohamed Salah. Pope threw himself at the ball, forgetting he was well out of his area and controlled the ball with his hands. The referee did not hesitate to reach for his red card and Pope left the field.

Despite being a man down, the home team never gave up and forced some impressive saves from Alisson, but were not able to break through.

Final score: Newcastle United 0 - Liverpool 2

The Red Devils are within sight of the summit

Manchester United hosted Leicester City on Sunday and earned all three points with an impressive display. The first big chance of the game fell to Harvey Barnes who struck the ball well. Fortunately for the home side, De Gea did just as well to stop the shot.

Leicester were dominant for the first 25 minutes and came close to scoring again when a very accurate cross from Castagne set up Iheanacho who fired a powerful header at the goal, but De Gea was there again and managed to claw the ball away.

And then, suddenly, The Red Devils counterattacked and Rashford found himself running onto a brilliant through ball with acres of space. With only the keeper to beat, Rashford coolly chipped the ball over the keeper and into the goal, scoring in his fifth Premier League match in a row.

In the second half, Rashford scored again, with his 24th goal of the season in all competitions.

United’s third goal was a wonderful team effort. Rashford passed to Sancho who played through to Bruno Fernandes who crossed it right back for Sancho to power past Leicester’s keeper.

When the final whistle was blown, the home crowd were delighted as Manchester United was within five points of the summit.

Final score: Manchester United 3 - Leicester City 0

Son Heung-min seals the win

Tottenham Hotspur have been a mixed bag since october. In the previous 10 matches before Sunday, they’d won five, drawn one and lost four. And not particularly predictably, for example, beating Man City and losing to Aston Villa. So when West Ham United travelled to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, they might have wondered which version of Spurs they would be playing against.

In the first half, West Ham broke through Spurs defence on a few occasions, but did little to trouble Spurs’ goalkeeper Fraser Forster. But in the second half, the home side turned up the heat and took control of the match.

After 56 minutes, Hojberg played a beautiful through ball that Ben Davis was able to run on to. He held the ball for just long enough for Emerson Royal to run into the area. Davis rolled the ball into the path of Emerson who guided the ball home.

Son Heung-min started the match on the bench but was brought on after 68 minutes and within minutes had sealed the win after linking up with Harry Kane who delivered a good ball which Son made the most of with a fine finish.

Final score: Tottenham Hotspur 2 - West Ham United 0

Right, now it’s time for you to think about the language again.

Your challenge this week is to complete the gaps in the following sentences with the correct forms of the words and phrases that I’ve spoken about in this podcast. I have taken all of these sentences from news websites and edited them slightly.

Number 1. Josh Prosser looked up to see what was on and decided to kick wide, with ______________ inviting an attack.

Number 2. We were a bit slow on the ball, they gave us a lot of time on the ball but we ______________ find a way through in the end.

Number 3. The new player on loan offers Manchester United versatility as well as having a good mentality and being smart on the ball but he’s got to prove himself and that means not being “too nice” and going ______________ for the rest of his loan spell.

Number 4. The England team have _______ a record-breaking _______ in the final Women’s T20 World Cup group game

Number 5. Mahamadou Landoure is still 13, but he's already made a case for being "the most ____________ basketball player" on Earth.

Number 6. Manchester United were after revenge in the 2011 Champions League final, but Barcelona had other ideas as their intricate tiki-taka plan worked ____________.

Number 7. Manchester City made their points on and off the pitch as they _______________ on Arsenal in the title race.

Number 8. McIntyre became an Olympic champion in Tokyo two years ago but has lost the belief that she can reach _____________ of the sailing world once more in Paris 2024.

Number 9. Morrell feels a combination of injury and the onset of the World Cup contributed to _______________ of displays earlier in the season.

Leave your answers to the language challenge in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Your task this week is to show off. I want to know what skill you have mastered to perfection. What can you do absolutely perfectly? Perhaps you can cook something, that’s normally what people do to perfection, or you might have practised another skill, maybe a musical skill or a craft. If you have worked hard on a skill, so much that you can do it to perfection, I want to know about it. If you haven’t mastered anything, you could either talk about a skill that you would like to polish to perfection or you could tell us about someone you know, if they have mastered something to perfection.

Share your ideas in the comments section on the page for this podcast on Premier Skills English.

Now it’s time for this week's football phrase.

This week’s football phrase is to **** the ball. This is a verb that means a way to kick the ball. If you **** the ball, you strike the ball low so that it rises quickly into the air. This is not a powerful kick, it’s a controlled move that you can use to move the ball over another player or the keeper.

If you know the answer, be sure to leave it in a comment on the page for this podcast on Premier Skills English.

Before I finish, I am going to go through the answers to last week’s language challenge.

Number 1. Wright admitted that City will be a tough opponent after watching them bounce back from a defeat to Tottenham last time out.

Number 2. The 23-year-old is going to be sidelined for a fortnight at least, but considering Liverpool’s luck this season, many wouldn’t be surprised to see that timeline extended.

Number 3. Thousands of residents are troubled by hundreds of potholes in the narrow road, accidents are happening.

Number 4. Dr Neeta Bhushan shares her advice on how to bounce back from trauma, and how to be more resilient.

Number 5. The 12-year-old busker wowed crowds on Grafton Street with a remarkable performance.

Number 6. The Allens are an infamous double act, sharing work and hobbies, and travelling the world together for their sailing hobby and for research.

Number 7. Couples are warned to be prepared this year as public transport will be disrupted by the Valentine’s Day strike action.

Number 8. The prize winning writer said the most important role of journalists is to continue to hold power to account despite evolving threats and formidable forces trying to suppress their work.

Number 9. Cotton Farmers in India and Pakistan have suffered the worst effects of the extreme heat and unpredictable rainfall.

And that’s all I have time for today. Before I finish, I just wanted to say that I hope you found this podcast useful, and I hope all of you stay fit and healthy and safe.

Bye for now and enjoy your football.