This week: A textbook corner kick

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 premierskillsenglish.britishcouncil.org where you’ll be able to download the podcast.

On the Premier Skills English website, you can read the transcript and join the Premier Skills English community by completing a language task in the comments section. This will really help you remember the new words and phrases from the stories from the Premier League.

Today, I’m talking about Manchester City who welcomed Southampton, Chelsea who hosted Newcastle United and Liverpool who travelled to London to take on Arsenal.

I’m going to talk about a lot of words and phrases today. The words and phrases I am going to talk about are:

• Firepower
• To yield results
• To show promise
• To take something for granted
• To mean business
• Without hesitation
• To surge forwards
• To make a mess of something
• A cagey affair
• Relentless action
• To make an impact
• A textbook corner kick routine

Listen out for this vocabulary in the story.

But before I get to the story, I want to look at the last football phrase and fiendish football phrase. If you didn’t hear them in the last podcast, here’s one more chance to guess now.

Last time, the football phrase was *********. This is how you can describe a player who is not allowed to play after they get sent off. So if a player denies a clear goal scoring opportunity, they get ********* for one match. However, if they are shown a red card for violent conduct then they get ********* for three matches.

The last fiendish football phrase was ***-**-*** *********. This describes an aspect of the game that Saliba is better at than any other player in the country, according to the article. What this means is when players try to run past Saliba, he is really good at stopping them. His success rate for tackles on dribblers is 90%. I’m sure Arsenal really missed his ***-**-*** ********* on Sunday.

Congratulations to Alex from Ukraine, you got part of the fiendish football phrase. Congratulations to AndreTorre from Brazil, Lukáš from Czechia, Ahmed Abouzeid from Egypt, Denis2000 from Belarus, Hasan from Turkey and Isshin from Japan. You all managed to work out or get close enough ... that the football phrase was suspended and the fiendish football phrase was one-on-one defending.

I was a bit late getting the podcast out for predictions last week and... it’s already Thursday afternoon and I’m just finishing writing this podcast. I think I’m going to have to think again about these predictions. Alex from Ukraine, you, like me, predicted more Manchester City goals. At least we both predicted the win. Alex, you predicted the Chelsea win, but I did better on that one. AndreTorre, you predicted the correct score but got the teams back to front. And nobody got the Arsenal Liverpool result. It was a much better match than I’d feared, though, so it’s good to be wrong sometimes.

Keep listening till the end of the podcast for three new predictions, a new football phrase and a new fiendish football phrase.

Now it’s time for the first story.

Southampton Makes City Work for It

I’d confidently predicted a City win and even thought Haaland might notch up a hat-trick. After his stunning strike in the Champions League midweek, he looked unstoppable. But Southampton had other ideas.

From the moment the players came out from the tunnel, the Etihad Stadium was electric. It took only five minutes for Erling Haaland to open the scoring. And what a goal it was! He managed to get a touch on the ball while practically falling away, using his heel to send it flying past the keeper

Despite the early lead, Southampton proved they weren’t pushovers. Haaland had several more chances to add to his tally, but Southampton's defence never gave up.

If we look at the stats, City seemed firmly in control. They had the majority of the possession and managed 22 shots compared to Southampton’s five. But City only managed to squeeze one past Southampton and that’s really the only stat that matters.

After the match, Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva had high praise for Southampton, with Guardiola even suggesting they deserved more from the Premier League this season. It was clear that City, despite their firepower, had been made to work hard. Guardiola hinted that Southampton’s performances would eventually yield results, and the Saints showed flashes of promise that suggest better days could be around the corner.

So, my prediction of a Haaland hat-trick didn’t quite come off. City, as expected, took all three points, but Southampton made them work for it, showing that, in the Premier League, even the big teams can’t take anything for granted.

Final score: Manchester City 1 - 0 Southampton

The words and phrases I am going to talk about today are:

• Firepower
• To yield results
• To show promise
• To take something for granted

Firepower

The word Firepower usually means the power and strength of guns or weapons. In football, it’s used to describe a team’s attacking players and how well they can score goals. City has a lot of firepower as they have Erling Haaland and, well, lots of players who can score goals easily.

To yield results

The word yield is easiest to understand if you start with the noun. When a farmer plants crops and then looks after them as they grow, the yield is the end product that the farmer gets when he or she harvests the crop. It’s the result of their hard work. The phrase to yield results means to produce or create a result, often after working hard or carrying out a plan.

To show promise

To show promise means to show signs that you will be successful. I think this is used most often when children are learning something. If a child is talented and seems to have a natural ability at something, you might say that they show promise. So, when something or someone “shows promise,” it looks like they could be very successful in the future.

To take something for granted

If you take something for granted, you assume it will always be there or will always happen, without fully appreciating it. I think that normally, this phrase is used to criticise someone if you think that they don’t appreciate or recognise their advantage or privilege or the struggles that people went through in the past in order to secure the things that we take for granted today. In the story, I said that the big teams in the Premier League can’t take anything for granted. Manchester City players and fans might expect to win when they are playing a team from the bottom of the league, but they will still have to work for it. If they took it for granted, they might not try as hard and then they could get caught out. I’m sure that Man City players never take anything for granted and that’s why they are the champions and currently at the top of the table.

Time to move on to the second story.

Chelsea Seals the Win Over Newcastle

The second match I made a prediction for was the Chelsea Newcastle match on Sunday and I'm delighted to say that I got this one right.

The match started well for Chelsea, as Cole Palmer made a breakthrough in just the third minute, slipping past Bruno Guimarães and slotting the ball neatly inside the far post. Unfortunately for Chelsea, VAR revealed that he was just a knee offside, but it was clear from that early chance that Chelsea meant business.

The Blues didn’t have to wait long to make a real impact. In the 18th minute, Palmer was once again instrumental, showing incredible vision from deep in his own half. He spotted Pedro Neto in space, and without hesitation, played a perfect pass into the path of Neto who by then was moving at pace. Neto skipped around Fabian Schär and sent a straightforward cross to Nicolas Jackson, who coolly drove the ball into the net with his first touch, putting Chelsea in front.

Newcastle equalized in the 32nd minute with a stunning, well-worked team goal. Valentino Livramento initiated the move, exchanging a one-two with Guimarães, weaving past Chelsea’s midfielders, and continuing his run. A quick interchange with Joelinton followed before Livramento laid it off to Harvey Barnes, who passed it across to Lewis Hall. Hall then delivered a precise cross to Alexander Isak, who was perfectly positioned to tap it over the line.

Early in the second half, Chelsea found their second goal. A midfield slip-up gifted the ball to Palmer, who surged forwards and took his shot so quickly that Nick Pope and the Newcastle backline barely had time to react.

Newcastle had their chances to get back into the game, especially with two golden opportunities falling to Alexander Isak. But somehow, he made a mess of both, leaving Newcastle frustrated. Chelsea, on the other hand, looked like they might extend their lead further in the second half, but were denied by some good defending, excellent goalkeeping from Nick Pope and the woodwork.

Final score: Chelsea 2 - 1 Newcastle United

The words and phrases I am going to talk about are:

• To mean business
• Without hesitation
• To surge forwards
• To make a mess of something

To mean business

If we say that someone means business, we mean they are serious about something and they are determined to achieve something; they are not joking or messing around. I think that it’s most commonly used as a warning when someone is not taking something seriously. Watch out, she means business. When I said that Palmer’s early shot on goal showed that Chelsea meant business, I mean that they looked determined and confident. Football might be called a game, but in the Premier League, the players are professionals and they are not there to have fun. It’s a serious business.

Without hesitation

To do something without hesitation means to do it immediately and confidently, without pausing or thinking. It shows that you are confident about what you’re doing. You can also use the verb form and say that someone didn’t hesitate when they did something. For example, when she was asked if she would move for her job, she didn’t hesitate and said yes. Or she said yes without hesitation.

To surge forwards

I like the word surge. It means to move quickly and forcefully. Normally, we talk about crowds surging forwards when the gates open at a football match. Or perhaps during a demonstration, you might hear that the protesters surged towards the police who were blocking the road. I think I like the word because it has the sound urge in it and it makes me think of a strong desire or urgency and a strong sense of purpose. So to surge forwards means to move forwards quickly and with force, often as a group or with a lot of energy.

To make a mess of something

To make a mess of something means to do something really badly and to make lots of mistakes that ruin it. A mess is an untidy state or situation where nothing is where it is supposed to be and things are ... well, messy. Think about a very small child eating spaghetti or yoghurt. If you let them eat by themselves, they will make a mess and in minutes, they will be messy. I have lots of pictures of my kids when they were little with food all over their faces. They were very messy eaters. So if you make a mess of something, you do something so badly that you create a mess; it’s the opposite of doing something efficiently.

Now it’s time for the final story for today:

Arsenal and Liverpool share the points

I’d predicted that when Arsenal hosted Liverpool, the match would be a cagey affair with both teams playing it safe, and perhaps a late winner sneaking in at the end. But what we got was a spicy encounter with relentless action from the opening whistle!

Last week, it looked like Bukayo Saka might miss out due to injury, but there he was, back in full force and making an impact early. Only nine minutes in, Saka opened the scoring with a fantastic strike. A perfectly weighted pass set him up, and with one deft touch, he stepped inside the Liverpool defender before rifling it into the back of the net.

Liverpool, however, responded swiftly. At the 17-minute mark, they levelled the score with what the commentator called a textbook corner kick routine. Trent Alexander-Arnold delivered a precise ball into the box, and Virgil van Dijk was the first to rise to it, directing a powerful header past the Arsenal keeper to bring Liverpool back into it.

With so much on the line, tensions were high, and it showed. Both teams put in some heavy tackles, and the fouls started to pile up towards the end of the first half. After one particularly strong challenge, Arsenal were awarded a free kick, and Declan Rice took charge. Known for their creative set pieces, Arsenal’s set-piece coach watched on as the players lined up in a tightly packed cluster before breaking out into a carefully choreographed run. This unusual movement caught Liverpool’s defenders off guard, allowing Akeel Marino to drift into space and connect with a perfectly timed header to put Arsenal back in the lead—Marino scoring his first goal for the club!

But Liverpool weren’t finished. With just ten minutes left on the clock, they got another equaliser. The ball surged back and forth across the pitch before Liverpool finally broke through Arsenal’s defence. A clever cross into the centre fell right into Mohamed Salah’s path, and from that range, he wasn’t going to miss.

Final score: Arsenal 2 - 2 Liverpool

The words and phrases I am going to talk about today are:

• A cagey affair
• Relentless action
• To make an impact
• A textbook corner kick routine

A cagey affair

The adjective cagey means careful and cautious. If someone is cagey, it’s like they are nervous and scared to make a mistake. I think it’s most commonly used to describe someone who is scared to admit to something they have done because they are afraid of how people will react. The phrase a cagey affair describes an event or a meeting when two people or two teams are nervous and cautious; where they don’t want to take risks. Sometimes, in football, when a match is really important, players are more concerned about losing it than they are about winning it and so teams are cautious and don’t take risks. Such matches are cagey affairs.

Relentless action

I think that this is more of a cliche than an established phrase. To relent means to slow down or reduce in intensity. It’s not that common. However, the adjective relentless is quite common and means without stopping or slowing down. Relentless action means continuous and intense activity without any pauses or slowing down. In football, it describes a game with non-stop excitement, with players always moving and lots happening from start to finish.

To make an impact

The noun impact means the result or effect of something. If you drop a ball into water, when it hits the water, there will be a splash. The splash is the impact of the ball hitting the water. We use the noun impact to describe the direct physical results of something, like a terrible storm or an act of war and also to describe the consequences, the results that follow from an act, perhaps a government policy or something creative, like the film Star Wars that had a massive impact on audiences and filmmakers. The noun is often collocated with the verb to make.

To make an impact means to have a strong or noticeable effect on something. When someone “makes an impact,” they do something that others remember, or that changes the situation in a meaningful way.

So if you want to achieve something, you want to make an impact. I said that Bukayo Saka made an impact early in the match on Sunday because he scored a goal in the ninth minute and was a presence on the pitch on and off the ball.

A textbook corner kick routine

A textbook corner kick routine refers to a well-planned and perfectly executed corner kick, done just as it’s shown in training or practice. It means the players followed the ideal steps, creating a good chance to score, like an example from a coaching book on corner kicks. Sometimes people just say ‘that was textbook’ meaning it was perfectly executed.
Today, I’ve spoken about 12 useful words and phrases.

The words and phrases were:

• Firepower
• To yield results
• To show promise
• To take something for granted
• To mean business
• Without hesitation
• To surge forwards
• To make a mess of something
• A cagey affair
• Relentless action
• To make an impact
• A textbook corner kick routine

Listen to the stories one more time to hear this language in context.

Southampton Makes City Work for It

I’d confidently predicted a City win and even thought Haaland might notch up a hat-trick. After his stunning strike in the Champions League midweek, he looked unstoppable. But Southampton had other ideas.

From the moment the players came out from the tunnel, the Etihad Stadium was electric. It took only five minutes for Erling Haaland to open the scoring. And what a goal it was! He managed to get a touch on the ball while practically falling away, using his heel to send it flying past the keeper

Despite the early lead, Southampton proved they weren’t pushovers. Haaland had several more chances to add to his tally, but Southampton's defence never gave up.

If we look at the stats, City seemed firmly in control. They had the majority of the possession and managed 22 shots compared to Southampton’s five. But City only managed to squeeze one past Southampton and that’s really the only stat that matters.

After the match, Pep Guardiola and Bernardo Silva had high praise for Southampton, with Guardiola even suggesting they deserved more from the Premier League this season. It was clear that City, despite their firepower, had been made to work hard. Guardiola hinted that Southampton’s performances would eventually yield results, and the Saints showed flashes of promise that suggest better days could be around the corner.

So, my prediction of a Haaland hat-trick didn’t quite come off. City, as expected, took all three points, but Southampton made them work for it, showing that, in the Premier League, even the big teams can’t take anything for granted.

Final score: Manchester City 1 - 0 Southampton

Chelsea Seals the Win Over Newcastle

The second match I made a prediction for was the Chelsea Newcastle match on Sunday and I'm delighted to say that I got this one right.

The match started well for Chelsea, as Cole Palmer made a breakthrough in just the third minute, slipping past Bruno Guimarães and slotting the ball neatly inside the far post. Unfortunately for Chelsea, VAR revealed that he was just a knee offside, but it was clear from that early chance that Chelsea meant business.

The Blues didn’t have to wait long to make a real impact. In the 18th minute, Palmer was once again instrumental, showing incredible vision from deep in his own half. He spotted Pedro Neto in space, and without hesitation, played a perfect pass into the path of Neto who by then was moving at pace. Neto skipped around Fabian Schär and sent a straightforward cross to Nicolas Jackson, who coolly drove the ball into the net with his first touch, putting Chelsea in front.

Newcastle equalized in the 32nd minute with a stunning, well-worked team goal. Valentino Livramento initiated the move, exchanging a one-two with Guimarães, weaving past Chelsea’s midfielders, and continuing his run. A quick interchange with Joelinton followed before Livramento laid it off to Harvey Barnes, who passed it across to Lewis Hall. Hall then delivered a precise cross to Alexander Isak, who was perfectly positioned to tap it over the line.

Early in the second half, Chelsea found their second goal. A midfield slip-up gifted the ball to Palmer, who surged forwards and took his shot so quickly that Nick Pope and the Newcastle backline barely had time to react.

Newcastle had their chances to get back into the game, especially with two golden opportunities falling to Alexander Isak. But somehow, he made a mess of both, leaving Newcastle frustrated. Chelsea, on the other hand, looked like they might extend their lead further in the second half, but were denied by some good defending, excellent goalkeeping from Nick Pope and the woodwork.

Final score: Chelsea 2 - 1 Newcastle United

Arsenal and Liverpool share the points

I’d predicted that when Arsenal hosted Liverpool, the match would be a cagey affair with both teams playing it safe, and perhaps a late winner sneaking in at the end. But what we got was a spicy encounter with relentless action from the opening whistle!

Last week, it looked like Bukayo Saka might miss out due to injury, but there he was, back in full force and making an impact early. Only nine minutes in, Saka opened the scoring with a fantastic strike. A perfectly weighted pass set him up, and with one deft touch, he stepped inside the Liverpool defender before rifling it into the back of the net.

Liverpool, however, responded swiftly. At the 17-minute mark, they levelled the score with what the commentator called a textbook corner kick routine. Trent Alexander-Arnold delivered a precise ball into the box, and Virgil van Dijk was the first to rise to it, directing a powerful header past the Arsenal keeper to bring Liverpool back into it.

With so much on the line, tensions were high, and it showed. Both teams put in some heavy tackles, and the fouls started to pile up towards the end of the first half. After one particularly strong challenge, Arsenal were awarded a free kick, and Declan Rice took charge. Known for their creative set pieces, Arsenal’s set-piece coach watched on as the players lined up in a tightly packed cluster before breaking out into a carefully choreographed run. This unusual movement caught Liverpool’s defenders off guard, allowing Akeel Marino to drift into space and connect with a perfectly timed header to put Arsenal back in the lead—Marino scoring his first goal for the club!

But Liverpool weren’t finished. With just ten minutes left on the clock, they got another equaliser. The ball surged back and forth across the pitch before Liverpool finally broke through Arsenal’s defence. A clever cross into the centre fell right into Mohamed Salah’s path, and from that range, he wasn’t going to miss.

Final score: Arsenal 2 - 2 Liverpool

Language challenge

Right, now it’s time ... for you to think about this language again. I have used AI to come up with examples of today’s phrases. I have removed the vocabulary from the stories so I want you to fill in the gaps with the correct forms of the language from the podcast.

Number 1. The movie had ___________, with one thrilling scene after another.

Number 2. Without enough ________, the team struggled to create scoring chances in the match.

Number 3. The young footballer ___________; he could become one of the best players in a few years.

Number 4. It was a ____________ at first, as each side was waiting for the other to make a mistake.

Number 5. Their coach praised the ______________ routine, saying it was exactly how they practised.

Number 6. If you keep practising English every day, it will _____________, and you’ll get better quickly.

Number 7. He ____ his family’s support ____________ until he moved away and realised how much they helped him.

Number 8. The new player ________________ right away, scoring in his first match.

Number 9. The team’s strong start in the match showed they ______________ and wanted to win.

Number 10. When offered the job, she accepted ____________ because it was her dream role.

Number 11. She tried baking a cake but _____________ it, and it didn’t taste good.

Number 12. As soon as the whistle blew, the players _____________ to attack.

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

Premier League Predictions

Now it’s time for me to make Premier League predictions for three of the matches coming up this weekend. I’d like to challenge you to make your own predictions and we’ll see if any of us get them right.

Prediction 1. The first match I’m going to make a prediction about is Saturday’s Newcastle Arsenal match. This is a big match for Arsenal and a tough one to predict. Newcastle at St James’ Park are going to be hard to beat, but Eddie Howe’s side have been having a hard time of it lately so I’m going to predict an Arsenal win. I think the Gunners will score twice. Final score: 2-0 to Arsenal.

Prediction 2. The second match I’m really looking forward to is West Ham taking on Forest. Now, the smart money is on Forest. They have the home advantage and they have been playing really well. West Ham have been playing poorly this season, but I think that soon, Lopetegui will find the formula for goals and glory. But not this match. Final score: Nottingham Forest 3 - West Ham United 1

Prediction 3. My final prediction this week is for Sunday’s Spurs clash with Villa. This should be another exciting match with both teams looking for a win. Spurs are favourites to win, but I think that they will be forced to share the points. Final score: Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 1 Aston Villa

What do you think? Leave your predictions for the three matches and let’s see whose predictions are the best.

Football phrase

Now it’s time for this week's football phrases. For those of you who like hunting for the source of these phrases, today, I’ve extracted them from an article on the Premier League website about Manchester City’s problems with injuries.

This week’s football phrase is *********. This is like a special bed that two medics can carry an injured player on. The player has to lie on the ********* and one medic holds the head end and another holds the feet end.

This week’s fiendish football phrase is ******** *******. This phrase refers to the footballers on a team, apart from the goalkeeper. Guardiola told reporters that he only has 13 ******** ******* that are fit enough to play.

If you know either of the answers, be sure to leave them 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. Some thought it was a harsh call to give the striker a yellow card for time-wasting.

Number 2. The opposing side struggled to defend with 10 men, giving our team a numerical advantage for the rest of the game.

Number 3. The politician’s comments sparked controversy across the country, with many calling for an apology.

Number 4. VAR confirmed that the defender’s foul had denied a clear goalscoring opportunity, leading to the penalty.

Number 5. The teacher will consider giving extra time for the project if the students request it.

Number 6. The manager was pleased to see his team score a well-worked goal after practising that set piece all week.

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 everyone stays fit and healthy and safe.

Bye for now and enjoy your football.