This Week: The upper hand

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.

This week, I’m talking about about Arsenal’s loss to Villa at home, Newcastle’s emphatic defeat of Spurs at St James’ Park and Liverpool’s slip up to Palace at Anfield.

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

• To have the edge
• To have the upper hand
• To not cope
• Characteristic
• To run someone ragged
• Crucial

Listen out for this vocabulary in this week’s story.

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

Last week, the phrase was a postage stamp strike. This is a slightly weird but interesting and creative bit of football English that I heard in the commentary this weekend. It means a shot into the top right corner of the goal; into the place where you would stick a postage stamp if the goal was an envelope.

Congratulations firstly to Gapa from Korea and Diland from Chile. Welcome, both of you, to Premier Skills English. Congratulations also to Alex from Ukraine, Ryohei from Japan, AndreTorre102 from Brazil, Hasan from Turkey, Lukáš from Czechia, Vietnguyenngo from Viet Nam, Wojciech M from Poland and Jacob Burns from Poland.

You all worked out that the word I was looking for was postage stamp.

Keep listening till the end of the podcast for a new football phrase.

Now it’s time for the first story.

Arsenal lose it to Villa

What can I say? Here we are again. This time last year, Arsenal was leading the league and then lost it. And last weekend, they did it again. The Gunners have had a great season, but so have Villa and on Sunday, both teams were evenly matched and even as an Arsenal fan, I have to admit, Villa had the edge and deserved the win.

Arsenal looked like they had the upper hand in the first half but it wasn’t clear cut and were saved twice by the woodwork. With only 6 minutes of regular time to play, Lucas Digne crossed the ball as Pau Torres ran in, with three red shirts crowding around him. All four players and the keeper missed the ball which ran on to the far post where Leon Bailey was waiting unmarked. With the defence and keeper committed at the other end of the goal, Bailey was able to roll the ball into the back of the net.

Arsenal were behind and didn’t have much time to make amends. They threw everything forwards leaving their own keeper alone in their half. So when they slipped up, Ollie Watkins was clear to run all the way from the Arsenal half with the ball at his feet. Emile Smith Rowe caught up with Watkins before he got the shot off but that was all. Watkins coolly lifted the ball over David Raya.

When Unai Emery celebrated on the sidelines, there was no doubt that he did not feel conflicted about beating his old club.

Final score: Arsenal 0 - 2 Aston Villa

The phrases from the story that I want to talk about are:

• To have the edge
• To have the upper hand

To have the edge
If in a competition, one team or competitor has the edge, this means they have a slight advantage or are playing slightly better. We use this expression when two teams are quite evenly matched and one team is a little bit better. I said that I thought that Villa had the edge over Arsenal because I thought they looked slightly better. I think that Arsenal looked a bit tired, perhaps, or at least didn’t look as determined as Villa and that’s what gave Villa the edge.

To have the upper hand
This expression is quite similar. It means to be in control or in a dominant position. It’s a very old expression that some websites suggest comes from a game in which players would take turns taking hold of a stick, each placing their hand further and further up the stick until there was no more stick to hold. The player with their hand at the top of the stick would have the upper hand and would be the winner. So now, when a team or competitor looks like they are winning, you can say that they have the upper hand.

Time to move on to the next story.

Newcastle overwhelm Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur travelled up to St James’ Park on Saturday to play Newcastle United.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou has had a good season and has imposed his preferred style of play which involves keeping possession by spreading his team and passing quickly.

Eddie Howe normally plays a similar style with Newcastle. But on Saturday, the Magpies sat back and let Spurs pass the ball around. Spurs had 71% possession. But when Newcastle finally won the ball, they countered with such speed, Spurs couldn’t cope.

Twice in the first half, within the space of two minutes, Isak and Gordon got behind Spurs back line and flew at the goal, Isak scoring in his sixth home game in and row and Gordon showing characteristic determination to hold the ball and score.

In the second half Isak scored again. The ball was played out from the edge of Spurs’ area and fired down field for Isak who ran onto the ball way past Spurs back line and calmly slipped the ball past Vicario in goal.

And then, to top it off, Fabian Schar made it four in the 87th minute with a header from Anthony Gordon’s corner kick.

Final score: Newcastle United 4 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur

The phrases from the story that I want to talk about are:

• To not cope
• Characteristic

To not cope
The verb to cope means to deal successfully with a difficult situation. The verb is most commonly used in negative sentences when someone is in a difficult situation and they can’t deal successfully or are not having a good time because of their situation. So if you are really busy at work and you have difficulties at home you might say I have too much work and I can’t cope. I can’t deal with all the work I have to do. In the story, I said that Spurs couldn’t cope with Newcastle’s speedy counter attacks. They couldn’t stop Newcastle on the counter, they couldn’t cope and Newcastle scored.

Characteristic
I used the word characteristic last week as well as this week. A characteristic is a typical quality of someone or something. So if you describe a person, you do it by listing their characteristics, the things that are typical of them. You can talk about physical characteristics, perhaps being very tall or having red hair and you can talk about psychological characteristics like confidence or kindness. If someone does something that is typical for them, or perhaps special, like a special move, you could refer to it as a characteristic move. So I said that Gordon showed characteristic determination to keep the ball. This is because Gordon is a tough and passionate player who doesn’t go down easily and generally fights for the ball. This determination is typical of Gordon, it’s what he’s normally like, so I described it as characteristic determination.

Now it’s time for the final story.

Not Liverpool’s day

On Sunday, Liverpool welcomed Crystal Palace. Liverpool are in a three-way battle for the title at the top of the table while Palace are fighting the threat of relegation at the other end.

Liverpool should have been able to contain Palace, but it just wasn’t their day. You do have to give credit to Palace as they were superb in every department; particularly up front. Eze, Olise and Mateta linked up well and Liverpool’s back four were run ragged.

After a fantastic spell, Palace were moving the ball quickly and fluidly, stretching Liverpool this way and that for something like 22 passes before Eze found space and then made it look simple with a clinical finish.

Liverpool responded with a series of fierce attacks, but in defence, Palace put in a solid team performance with incredible blocks from defenders and saves from their keeper Dean Henderson. After the match, when Henderson was asked about the second half, he told reporters: “I felt like I was out there for about a year and I didn’t think it was ever going to end.”

Liverpool had 22 shots during the match compared to just 8 from Palace, and it would be tempting to say that Liverpool were just unlucky, but on balance, you’d have to admit Palace played their part well and those three points may be crucial for their survival in the Premier League.

Final score: Liverpool 0 - 1 Crystal Palace

The phrases from the story that I want to talk about are:

• To run someone ragged
• Crucial

To run someone ragged
This is an informal idiom that means to make someone feel tired, really tired, because you make them work really hard, usually through physical work that involves a lot of movement. It’s an odd sounding idiom so I looked up the history of the phrase but I couldn’t find much. The word ragged refers to clothes that have been torn and damaged because they are old and have been used too much. It’s an interesting looking adjective - it looks like a verb so you have to be careful with the pronunciation. Past simple verbs that end in -ed following a ‘/g/ sound are normally pronounced /d/ but this adjective is ragged.
I chose this phrase because I heard it in the commentary. I think it was used because the Crystal Palace attackers actually made the Liverpool back four run back and forth so there was a literal meaning when the commentator said they were run ragged. They were literally run until they looked tired and unable to defend as well.

Crucial
The adjective crucial means extremely important. If something is crucial, if you take it away, whatever you took it from won’t work. So it’s crucial to put enough fuel in your car or you won’t be able to make the journey. You should also make sure you have enough water. Water is crucial. Having enough snacks is a good idea, but not crucial. For Palace, if they survive with a margin of three points or fewer, then the three points they earned at Anfield will turn out to be crucial.

Today, I’ve spoken about 6 useful words and phrases.

The words and phrases were:

• To have the edge
• To have the upper hand
• To not cope
• Characteristic
• To run someone ragged
• Crucial

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

 

Arsenal lose it to Villa

What can I say? Here we are again. This time last year, Arsenal was leading the league and then lost it. And last weekend, they did it again. The Gunners have had a great season, but so have Villa and on Sunday, both teams were evenly matched and even as an Arsenal fan, I have to admit, Villa had the edge and deserved the win.

Arsenal looked like they had the upper hand in the first half but it wasn’t clear cut and were saved twice by the woodwork. With only 6 minutes of regular time to play, Lucas Digne crossed the ball as Pau Torres ran in, with three red shirts crowding around him. All four players and the keeper missed the ball which ran on to the far post where Leon Bailey was waiting unmarked. With the defence and keeper committed at the other end of the goal, Bailey was able to roll the ball into the back of the net.

Arsenal were behind and didn’t have much time to make amends. They threw everything forwards leaving their own keeper alone in their half. So when they slipped up, Ollie Watkins was clear to run all the way from the Arsenal half with the ball at his feet. Emile Smith Rowe caught up with Watkins before he got the shot off but that was all. Watkins coolly lifted the ball over David Raya.

When Unai Emery celebrated on the sidelines, there was no doubt that he did not feel conflicted about beating his old club.

Final score: Arsenal 0 - 2 Aston Villa

 

 

Newcastle overwhelm Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur travelled up to St James’ Park on Saturday to play Newcastle United.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou has had a good season and has imposed his preferred style of play which involves keeping possession by spreading his team and passing quickly.

Eddie Howe normally plays a similar style with Newcastle. But on Saturday, the Magpies sat back and let Spurs pass the ball around. Spurs had 71% possession. But when Newcastle finally won the ball, they countered with such speed, Spurs couldn’t cope.

Twice in the first half, within the space of two minutes, Isak and Gordon got behind Spurs back line and flew at the goal, Isak scoring in his sixth home game in and row and Gordon showing characteristic determination to hold the ball and score.

In the second half Isak scored again. The ball was played out from the edge of Spurs’ area and fired down field for Isak who ran onto the ball way past Spurs back line and calmly slipped the ball past Vicario in goal.

And then, to top it off, Fabian Schar made it four in the 87th minute with a header from Anthony Gordon’s corner kick.

Final score: Newcastle United 4 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur

 

 

Not Liverpool’s day

On Sunday, Liverpool welcomed Crystal Palace. Liverpool are in a three-way battle for the title at the top of the table while Palace are fighting the threat of relegation at the other end.

Liverpool should have been able to contain Palace, but it just wasn’t their day. You do have to give credit to Palace as they were superb in every department; particularly up front. Eze, Olise and Mateta linked up well and Liverpool’s back four were run ragged.

After a fantastic spell, Palace were moving the ball quickly and fluidly, stretching Liverpool this way and that for something like 22 passes before Eze found space and then made it look simple with a clinical finish.

Liverpool responded with a series of fierce attacks, but in defence, Palace put in a solid team performance with incredible blocks from defenders and saves from their keeper Dean Henderson. After the match, when Henderson was asked about the second half, he told reporters: “I felt like I was out there for about a year and I didn’t think it was ever going to end.”

Liverpool had 22 shots during the match compared to just 8 from Palace, and it would be tempting to say that Liverpool were just unlucky, but on balance, you’d have to admit Palace played their part well and those three points may be crucial for their survival in the Premier League.

Final score: Liverpool 0 - 1 Crystal Palace

 

Language challenge

Right, now it’s time for you to think about this language again. I have found examples of today’s words and phrases in stories online and edited them slightly. 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. A strong password is _________ to protect your online accounts from hackers.

Number 2. Many students struggle to _______ with the stress of finals week, feeling overwhelmed by the workload.

Number 3. Coordinating the international conference almost single-handedly, she was __________ by the end of the week.

Number 4. The veteran chess player had _________ throughout the game, thanks to her experience and deep understanding of different strategies.

Number 5. Both of the operating systems performed well, but the user-friendly interface gave Apple ___________ over other systems, making it more popular among consumers.

Number 6. During the crisis, he showed the __________ calmness and composure that make him such an excellent manager.

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

Football phrase

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

This week, the phrase is ***** ** ****. This phrase is used to talk about the tactics and strategies that a manager likes and the way that they want their team to play. This phrase includes things like the vision that the manager has, the instructions and how they organise the team, the formation and how the players move on the pitch and how direct they are; whether they prefer to keep possession and engineer breaks or if they are more aggressive and prefer to charge at their opponents. All of these ideas describe the ***** ** **** that a manager directs their players to carry out on the pitch.

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. The ending of the book was bittersweet, leaving readers both satisfied and longing for more.

Number 2. Her humility was evident in the way she treated everyone with respect, regardless of their status or background.

Number 3. With a quick stab of the pen, he signed the contract without hesitation.

Number 4. Jack Nicholson isn’t retired yet, says director James L. Brooks: ‘I don’t buy’ that he’s done with acting.

Number 5. Pop singer Mika hit the stage in a feast for the eyes and soul last night with a sensational performance that lit the venue up.

Number 6. Cheltenham Town boss Darrell Clarke says his team “let down our supporters” in defeat to relegated Carlisle United.

Number 7. The famous whistleblower reflected on the troubles he’d faced saying: On balance, we are better off for knowing what our government is doing in secret.

Number 8. The new company CEO admitted that she came across as a bit cold and standoffish in her first interview.

Number 9. Gareth Southgate has dropped a strong hint that he could walk away from the England manager’s job, saying he feels “conflicted” about whether to stay on in light of the various lows of the past 18 months.

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.