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 britishcouncil.org/premierskillsenglish 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’ve got three stories for you. I’m going to talk about Aston Villa’s trip to London to face Brentford, a dazzling display by West Ham at Bournemouth and the demolition of Tottenham Hotspur at Newcastle.

The language from the stories that I’m going to talk about this week is:

• Agile
• To have the upper hand
• A relentless barrage of attacks
• Dazzling
• To take your foot off the gas
• To step up
• To throw in the towel
• To demolish
• To try your luck
• Shell shocked

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 a **** *****. This was a really tough bit of football English. I am very impressed that so many of you got it right. This phrase means a tactic that involves players putting pressure on their opponents well into their opponents half. If a team plays with a **** *****, they try to overload the midfield and try to win back the ball by forcing their opponents to pass to a player who is weaker.

Congratulations to Hasan from Turkey, Shikabala from Egypt, Vietnguyengo from Vietnam, Denis2000 from Belarus, HenryN from Japan, Welcome to Premier Skills English Henry! Well done Satt from Japan, also to Goku and Ken from Japan and to Cezrrio Abrantes from Brazil and Bicooz from Egypt. Well done as well to Ryohei from Japan and Renan from Brazil as you got half of the phrase. You all managed to work out that the phrase I was describing was a high press.

At the end of this podcast, I’ll have a new football phrase for you. It seems I’ll have to raise the bar even higher if I want to catch you guys out.

Thanks for all of your responses to the task. Ken, I really feel sorry for you. My eldest son is nine and plays football at school every day. It’s just playground football, but if he plays badly or makes a mistake, his teammates can be very hard on him and he gets quite upset about it.

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

Which team was dominant?

Villans and Bees level in London

Villa travelled to West London on Saturday to take on Brentford. Thomas Frank has managed the Bees from the Championship into the Premier League where they are currently in 10th place.

When Unai Emery took over at Aston Villa, the Villans were third from the bottom of the table. Emery has done an outstanding job and has led the team to within sight of European football.

Villa have enjoyed success playing a fast agile style of football that has enabled them to compete against the top clubs in the league. Brentford play a more physical game and on Saturday, with the home advantage, the two teams were well matched.

In the first half, both sides came close to scoring. As neither side had the upper hand, both teams played with confidence.

At the start of the second half, Villa were let off when Kevin Schade got around the keeper and missed an open goal. The pundits called it the miss of the season.

In the 65th minute, Ivan Toney got to the back post and hit home from a Mbeumo cross. Villa responded with a relentless barrage of attacks and eventually Douglas Luiz grabbed an equaliser.

Final score: Brentford 1 - 1 Aston Villa

Before the story, I asked you:

Which team was dominant?

The answer is neither team. It was a bit of a trick question. The teams were very well matched so it was a great match to watch.

The language from the story that I want to talk about is:

• Agile
• To have the upper hand
• A relentless barrage of attacks

Agile

Agile is an adjective that means quick and well coordinated. Cats are normally agile. They have very fast reflexes and great balance so they can walk along fences and jump onto ledges without falling off. I am not very agile. I have always been quite clumsy. Acrobats and gymnasts need to be agile. The word is more commonly used to talk about the way that a business or team works together. If a project is managed in an agile way, the managers will constantly review and redesign. They will be able to respond quickly when there are obstacles. In the story, I used the word to describe a style of football. An agile style of football means quick and well coordinated and also responsive and reactive to the changes on the pitch.

To have the upper hand

The upper hand means the position of power. I have looked at the etymology of this phrase and it might have something to do with baseball or it might come from holding hands or it might come from playing card games. When you are playing cards, the cards that each player is dealt are the player’s hands. So when you are playing, you might have a good hand one round and then a poor hand the following round. Normally, the person with the best hand wins the round. I suppose the best hand might have been called the upper hand at some point, but I’m not sure. If you have the upper hand, then you are in a very strong position to win whatever game you are playing or competitive situation you are in.

A relentless barrage of attacks

The word barrage comes from wars and fighting. A barrage is a continuous attack. If an army fires large guns at the enemy without stopping for a long time, that is a barrage. The adjective relentless means non-stop so a relentless barrage is a continuous series of attacks that doesn’t stop. In a way, the phrase a relentless barrage of attacks is a bit wordy as a barrage is already a long series of attacks. But it’s quite a common phrase.

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

Who scored their third goal in three matches?

West Ham overwhelm Bournemouth

West Ham had a good week last week. First they fought back from 2-0 to draw against Arsenal, then they beat Gent 4-1 to book their spot in the Europa Conference League semi-finals. And then on Sunday, they put on a dazzling display at Bournemouth.

West Ham are in 13th place in the league but only 10 points ahead of the bottom rung so they are not completely safe from relegation. Their victory at Bournemouth boosts their chance of survival in the league but David Moyes knows they can’t take their foot off the gas and that they need to “keep stepping up”.

Early goals from Michael Antonio and Lucas Paqueta subdued the home crowd, but Bournemouth were not prepared to throw in the towel and kept pushing forward and testing West Ham’s defence and keeper.

West Ham survived Bournemouth’s fight back and soon made things worse for the home side when Declan Rice scored just before halftime. The visitors won a corner in the 43rd minute which Crosswell hit well. Bournemouth got a block in but the ball fell loose at the back post. Rice ran in and drilled the ball home scoring his third goal in three matches.

In the second half, Bournemouth did their best to fight back, but couldn’t break through. When Fornals made it four nil in the 72nd minute, the points were in the bag.

Final score: AFC Bournemouth 0 - 4 West Ham United

Before the story, I asked you:

Who scored their third goal in three matches?

The answer is: Declan Rice who scored against Arsenal, Gent and Bournemouth.

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

• Dazzling
• To take your foot off the gas
• To step up
• To throw in the towel

Dazzling

The verb to dazzle is what a light does if it shines in your eyes so that you can’t see for a short time. You might get dazzled by the sun reflecting off a window or if someone shines a powerful torch in your eyes. You can use the adjective dazzling to describe a light that dazzles you. However, we use it quite commonly to talk about something or someone that is really attractive or exciting to watch. If something is dazzling, your reaction will be like you are temporarily blinded by a sudden light, it will stop you and make you say wow. There’s something slightly overwhelming about how exciting or attractive something dazzling is.

To take your foot off the gas

The idiom to take your foot off the gas comes from the USA. The gas in the idiom is what we call the accelerator pedal in a car in the UK, what you press to make the car go. We do use the phrase ‘the gas’, but it feels a bit foreign. In America, someone might say ‘hit the gas’ when they want you to drive faster, but in the UK we’d say ‘put your foot down’. If you take your foot off the gas, then you slow down and stop trying as hard. When a team is tired towards the end of the match, a player might take his or her foot off the gas and stop trying as hard.

To step up

This phrasal verb has two common meanings. In the story, I think my use was a shortened form of the idiom to step up to the plate, which is an idiom that comes from baseball. In the sport of baseball, the batter stands on a plate. So when a team needs an individual to take on their opponents, their batter needs to step up to the plate. We use the idiom to sat that someone takes action or responsibility when there is a need. So if a first team player is injured, a more junior player may have to step up to take responsibility in their position. Another example might be if a team has a really good penalty taker. If that player is injured and the team is awarded a penalty, the players that volunteer to take the penalty are stepping up.

The other meaning of the phrasal verb is to increase the level of something by a significant amount. So when there’s a big match in Manchester, the police might step up the number of police patrols.

To throw in the towel

This idiom comes from boxing. If a boxer is hurt in a round, their trainer might throw in the towel. This is done by literally throwing a towel into the ring. When this happens, the referee will stop the fight and award the win to the opponent. So to throw in the towel means to quit or give up because you have decided that you can’t succeed.

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 an unbelievable goal?

Newcastle demolish Spurs

I have never seen anything quite like the first 21 minutes of Newcastle’s match against Spurs on Sunday. When Jacob Murphy fired in the first goal after just 2 minutes, it was a great start for the Magpies, but it’s not that unusual for a team to be caught napping at the start of the match. Usually, though, they wake up.

Fabian Schar played a beautiful ball from well within his half that fell perfectly for Joelinton who sidestepped the keeper and scored.

Then Jacob Murphy tried his luck from distance and scored again. He didn’t look like he believed it. It was a magnificent strike and put his side three goals ahead after nine minutes.

Joe Willock played a gloriously weighted through ball to the feet of Alexander Isak who was running flat out and struck to make it 4.

Two minutes later, he scored again with a confident strike from a tight angle.

Spurs looked shell shocked. 5 goals down in 21 minutes.

Just after half time Harry Kane pulled one back, but it never looked like the start of a comeback. And by the time Callum Wilson scored Newcastle’s sixth, many of the Spurs supporters had already packed up and headed home.

Final score: Newcastle United 6 - 1 - Tottenham Hotspur

Before the story, I asked you:

Who scored an unbelievable goal?

The answer is: The first 20 minutes of the match were unbelievable so you could answer this with any of the goal scorers, but I was thinking about Jacob Murphy’s long distance strike that even he seemed to find hard to believe.

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

• To demolish
• To try your luck
• Shell shocked

To demolish

This means to completely destroy something. Normally, we use the verb demolish to talk about the act of destroying a building so that the land can be used for something else. Special engineers put explosives in buildings to demolish them. You might also use the word to describe a building that is destroyed in a war or because of a tornado or natural disaster. It is quite common in football English and to talk about sports when a team or competitor is beaten badly.

To try your luck

This idiom means to try to do something when you are not sure you are going to be able to do it. It’s like saying you are going to test your luck, meaning that if you are lucky, you will succeed. If you apply for a job, but you don’t think that you have enough qualifications or experience, you know that there’s not much of a chance of the company hiring you. So you might say that you are just trying your luck. Maybe, you’ll be lucky and the company will hire you.

When Jacob Murphy decided to shoot from distance, I don’t think that he was very confident that the ball would end up in the net, but he tried his luck and beat the keeper.

Shell shocked

This adjective describes someone who can’t think and act as they would normally because they have experienced something horrible. It comes from the mental problems soldiers faced in the first world war. If soldiers in trenches experienced a barrage of attacks, with shells exploding around them, they might become emotionally disturbed and unable to fight. The medics at the time described this state as shell shock. The term is used figuratively to describe someone who is stunned after something surprising or very exciting or horrible has happened.

OK, that's 10 words and phrases from the stories today. They were:

• Agile
• To have the upper hand
• A relentless barrage of attacks
• Dazzling
• To take your foot off the gas
• To step up
• To throw in the towel
• To demolish
• To try your luck
• Shell shocked

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

Villans and Bees level in London

Villa travelled to West London on Saturday to take on Brentford. Thomas Frank has managed the Bees from the Championship into the Premier League where they are currently in 10th place.

When Unai Emery took over at Aston Villa, the Villans were third from the bottom of the table. Emery has done an outstanding job and has led the team to within sight of European football.

Villa have enjoyed success playing a fast agile style of football that has enabled them to compete against the top clubs in the league. Brentford play a more physical game and on Saturday, with the home advantage, the two teams were well matched.

In the first half, both sides came close to scoring. As neither side had the upper hand, both teams played with confidence.

At the start of the second half, Villa were let off when Kevin Schade got around the keeper and missed an open goal. The pundits called it the miss of the season.

In the 65th minute, Ivan Toney got to the back post and hit home from a Mbeumo cross. Villa responded with a relentless barrage of attacks and eventually Douglas Luiz grabbed an equaliser.

Final score: Brentford 1 - 1 Aston Villa

West Ham overwhelm Bournemouth

West Ham had a good week last week. First they fought back from 2-0 to draw against Arsenal, then they beat Gent 4-1 to book their spot in the Europa Conference League semi-finals. And then on Sunday, they put on a dazzling display at Bournemouth.

West Ham are in 13th place in the league but only 10 points ahead of the bottom rung so they are not completely safe from relegation. Their victory at Bournemouth boosts their chance of survival in the league but David Moyes knows they can’t take their foot off the gas and that they need to “keep stepping up”.

Early goals from Michael Antonio and Lucas Paqueta subdued the home crowd, but Bournemouth were not prepared to throw in the towel and kept pushing forward and testing West Ham’s defence and keeper.

West Ham survived Bournemouth’s fight back and soon made things worse for the home side when Declan Rice scored just before halftime. The visitors won a corner in the 43rd minute which Crosswell hit well. Bournemouth got a block in but the ball fell loose at the back post. Rice ran in and drilled the ball home scoring his third goal in three matches.

In the second half, Bournemouth did their best to fight back, but couldn’t break through. When Fornals made it four nil in the 72nd minute, the points were in the bag.

Final score: AFC Bournemouth 0 - 4 West Ham United

Newcastle demolish Spurs

I have never seen anything quite like the first 21 minutes of Newcastle’s match against Spurs on Sunday. When Jacob Murphy fired in the first goal after just 2 minutes, it was a great start for the Magpies, but it’s not that unusual for a team to be caught napping at the start of the match. Usually, though, they wake up.

Fabian Schar played a beautiful ball from well within his half that fell perfectly for Joelinton who sidestepped the keeper and scored.

Then Jacob Murphy tried his luck from distance and scored again. He didn’t look like he believed it. It was a magnificent strike and put his side three goals ahead after nine minutes.

Joe Willock played a gloriously weighted through ball to the feet of Alexander Isak who was running flat out and struck to make it 4.

Two minutes later, he scored again with a confident strike from a tight angle.

Spurs looked shell shocked. 5 goals down in 21 minutes.

Just after half time Harry Kane pulled one back, but it never looked like the start of a comeback. And by the time Callum Wilson scored Newcastle’s sixth, many of the Spurs supporters had already packed up and headed home.

Final score: Newcastle United 6 - 1 - Tottenham Hotspur

Language Challenge

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. On Tuesday night, the Northern Lights put on a __________ show over Dorset.

Number 2. The two-time Grand Slam runner-up retired injured from her semi-final match against Iga Swiatek with the match lasting only three games before the Tunisian ______________.

Number 3. We asked Sonia Kruger why she never ____________ in Hollywood after starring in Baz Luhrmann's hit film Strictly Ballroom.

Number 4. Dogs use their tails more as a communication tool. Tails do not play a significant role in the canine’s _______ movements, according to a new study.

Number 5. Pep Guardiola calls on Manchester City fans to _________ ahead of their crucial match against Arsenal.

Number 6. The boss of a north Wales butchers says he's __________ after being quoted nearly £800,000 for a year's supply of energy at his small factory.

Number 7. The basketball player started the game off red hot and never ________________ with 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting.

Number 8. Sri Lanka Vs Pakistan: Who has ____________ in the final of the Asia Cup?

Number 9. Neighbours living in a Nottinghamshire town say they would be sad to see a shopping centre _________ - but many are happy the site will be put to better use.

Number 10. Female journalists are facing a ______________________ and harassment, with nearly a third considering leaving the profession as a result, media support organisations have warned.

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

Task

Your task this week is a little more demanding. I want you to think about what you have learned from football. Through football, we all experience being part of something bigger than our ordinary lives. Whether you’re part of a team or a dedicated fan or however else you enjoy the beautiful game, football can give you a different way of looking at the world and this can lead to lessons about the sport, about different people and about different countries and cultures. I would like you to think about this and try to complete the following sentence:

The most important lesson that I learned from football was ...
The most important lesson that I learned from football was ...

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

Football phrase

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

The football phrase this week is to be ****** *******. This idiom is a football cliché that is used to describe a team who concede a goal in the opening minutes of the match. It’s as if the team were not quite ready for the game to begin. The phrase can be used to describe other situations where someone failed to do something because they were not paying attention.

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. Pharmacists say supplies of key antibiotics to treat common infections have gone from bad to worse in the past week.

Number 2. Max Verstappen has proven again, how worthy he is of the World Championship, though a lot of it is thanks to Ferrari in so many ways. The car has been so good and the team has been so competitive, and they handed it to him on a plate.

Number 3. Alan Shearer says David Moyes' multiple changes to his West Ham United defensive line made the difference in the 1-0 win against Fulham.

Number 4. NASA's Webb telescope captured the fleeting moment of a dying star before it went supernova.

Number 5. A Nottinghamshire MP has been involved in a scuffle with a prominent anti-Brexit activist in Westminster.

Number 6. Danny Ings put the Hammers ahead against the run of play just before half-time with the first European goal of his career.

Number 7. Political editor Beth Rigby asked the prime minister about his criticisms of the national curriculum and if previous governments had dropped the ball.

Number 8. Prince Archie is set to have a star-studded 4th birthday celebration as mum Meghan Markle stays home to plan the party.

Number 9. A car enthusiast is recovering from serious leg injuries after a Porsche surged forwards and pinned him against a barrier in a freak accident at an auction.

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.