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David De Gea.

Matchweek 22 - Smash and Grab

Matchweek 22 - Smash and Grab

Welcome to This Week from Premier Skills English, a weekly review of football action for learners of English from across the globe. In This Week, Jack and Rich talk about the latest action from the Premier League. They keep you up to date with our prediction competition and have lots of football English for you to learn.

Transcript

If the listening is a bit difficult, try listening and reading at the same time.
Read the transcript and listen at the same time.

Introduction  

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and welcome to our weekly round-up section called ‘This Week’ on Premier Skills English.  

Jack: Hi there. I’m Jack. We’ve got lots of interesting words and phrases to help you talk about football in English.

Rich: We want you to use and practise these phrases by interacting with Premier League fans from around the world in our comments section.

Jack: 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.

Rich: You can find all our latest content on the Premier Skills English homepage or the Premier Skills-British Council Facebook page. 

Jack: Let’s start with our headlines!

Headlines

Rich: United make it six out of six under Ole.

Jack: Manchester United snatched a 1-0 win away at Tottenham to make it six wins in a row under new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It was a superb winner. Paul Pogba played a brilliant long pass and Marcus Rashford showed great composure to beat Hugo Lloris. However, the reality was that it was a bit of a smash and grab. United scored a breakaway goal and David De Gea made an astonishing 11 saves in the match - the most he has ever made in the Premier League when keeping a clean sheet.

Rich: Liverpool edge out Brighton.

Jack: Liverpool weren’t at full throttle but a Mohamed Salah penalty was enough for Liverpool to win the match and extend their lead at the top to seven points. Liverpool struggled to create chances but were never really threatened by the Seagulls. 

Rich: Burnley win with no shots on target.

Jack: Burnley moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win at home to Fulham. Burnley fell behind when Fulham’s World Cup Winner, Andre Schurrle. But, two own goals in the first half put Burnley in control and despite not having one shot on target in the entire match it was Burnley who took all three points.

Rich: Guess what Burnley manager Sean Dyche said about his team’s performance.

Jack: I heard. He said they were lucky. 

Vocabulary alert!

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

Jack: Our six words and phrases this week all come from the headline about the Tottenham - Manchester United match. The six words and phrases are: composure, a clean sheet, in a row, to snatch, a breakaway goal, and a smash and grab.

Rich: Let’s start with the word composure. We said Marcus Rashford showed great composure to beat Hugo Lloris. 

Jack: Composure is the quality of staying calm under pressure. Rashford controlled the ball and put it past the goalkeeper. He didn’t panic and shoot wide or over the top - he was very composed - he showed great composure.

Rich: David De Ge made 11 saves and kept a clean sheet. To keep a clean sheet is an expression we use to mean a team didn’t concede a goal.

Jack: Manchester United have won six matches in a row. In a row is a phrase we use to say that the same thing happens each time with nothing different in between.

Rich: United have won each of their last six matches. They’ve won six matches in a row.

Jack: The next word is snatch. Manchester United snatched a 1-0 win against Tottenham.

Rich: To snatch means to take something from someone else often with a little aggression and without asking.

Jack: In football, we say a team snatched a win when they possibly didn’t really deserve it.

Rich: The next phrase is a breakaway goal. This type of goal is one where a team have been defending a lot and suddenly attack quickly and score.

Jack: Manchester United scored a breakaway goal against Tottenham.

Rich: The final phrase is a smash and grab. Grab is a similar word to snatch which we’ve just looked at it means to take quickly often without asking.

Jack: A smash and grab win usually describes a victory by a team who defended a lot and scored a breakaway goal.

Rich: Just like Manchester United against Tottenham.

Jack: Exactly. 

Football Awards

Rich: Right, every week, we give out three Matchweek awards. 

Jack: The awards are Player of the Week, Team of the Week and Goal of the Week.

Rich: In the comments section, you need to tell us if you agree with our choices.

Jack: Let’s start with Player of the Week. There were some strong performances in the Premier League last weekend. 

Rich: Virgil van Dijk was solid at the back for Liverpool, Willian was great for Chelsea and Declan Rice is a promising young player for West Ham who scored his first ever Premier League goal at the weekend.

Jack: But our Player of the Week has to be Manchester Utd’s David De Gea. He was magnificent for United and was the main reason that his side finished with all three points.

Rich: What about our Team of the Week? A really difficult choice this week. United and Liverpool both won one nil but our choice of Team of the Week goes to another team that won by the same scoreline: West Ham United. The Hammers beat Arsenal and are our Team of the Week,

Jack: Finally, Goal of the Week. Marcus Rashford’s goal was excellent as was Declan Rice’s for West Ham but our GOal of the Week goes to Fulham’s Andre Schurlle. A volley that deserved to win any game - just a pity that it didn’t manage to earn his team any points at all.

Matchweek Prediction 

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

Rich: It’s Matchweek 23 and the big match this weekend is Arsenal v Chelsea. It’s another London derby for Arsenal and they will be looking to bounce back from defeat against West Ham last weekend. Chelsea are in fourth place and the last Champions League spot. There are six points between Chelsea and Arsenal now so it’s a big game for Arsenal and they need a win. Chelsea have been much better at home than away this season so I fancy Arsenal to get a win in this one. Final score: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea.

Jack: I agree with you Rich, but I’m going for a 2-0 win to Arsenal.

Rich: We will see. Make your predictions on the page below. You get one point if you predict the right result and three points if you predict the right score.

Jack: 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. 

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.

Results

Matchweek 22:

West Ham 1-0 Arsenal

Brighton 0-1 Liverpool

Burnley 2-1 Fulham

Cardiff 0-0 Huddersfield

Crystal Palace 1-2 Watford 

Leicester City 1-2 Southampton

Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle

Everton 2-0 Bournemouth

Tottenham 0-1 Manchester United

Manchester City L-L Wolves

Mohamed Salah scored the only goal in the match between Liverpool and Brighton. The Reds are still leading the Premier League.

Vocabulary Alert

Football English

We looked at six words and phrases connected to the Tottenham v Manchester United match. Take a look at the phrases in bold. Do you undertand what they mean?

Manchester United snatched a 1-0 win away at Tottenham to make it six wins in a row under new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Marcus Rashford showed great composure to beat Hugo Lloris.

It was a bit of a smash and grab.

United scored a breakaway goal and David De Gea made an astonishing 11 saves in the match.

This is the most De Gea has ever made in the Premier League when keeping a clean sheet.

Can you use the words in bold in a different sentence? Write a sentence at the bottom of the page. If you're not sure, listen to the audio for more explanations and examples.

Marcus Rashford scored Manchester United's goal in their 1-0 win against Spurs.

Matchweek Awards

Do you agree with our choices?

Player of the Week: David De Gea (Manchester United)

David De Gea made ELEVEN saves in Manchester Utd's match against Tottenham.

Team of the Week: West Ham United

West Ham beat Arsenal 1-0. Declan Rice was man of he match and scored his first ever Premier League goal.

Goal of the Week: Andre Schurrle (Fulham)

Andre Schurrle scored a fantastic volley but his Fulham team went on to lose 2-1 against Burnley.

The Big Matches

Arsenal v Chelsea

The big match in Matchweek 23 is Arsenal v Chelsea. Rich and Jack think Arsenal will come out on top. Do you agree?

What are your predictions? Have a listen to what Rich and Jack say and then enter our prediction competition below. You get one point for the correct result and three points for predicting the exact score.

Where are you in our prediction league?

Who will be our Premier League Prediction Champion?

Formulário

Premier League Prediction: Arsenal v Chelsea

Use this form to make your prediction. You can only make one prediction so take care! When you have made your predictions, the form will vanish.

You need to be logged in to make your prediction!

Check out the league table for our prediction competition. What position are you in?

See results table

Willian got the winning goal for Chelsea at the weekend. The Blues beat Newcastle 2-1.

Four Questions

What do you think?

Jack and Rich have spoken about Matchweek 22 in the Premier League. Now it's your turn! Have a look at the questions and write your answers in the comments section below.

  1. Rich and Jack chose David De Gea of Manchester United as Player of the Week. Do you agree? 
  2. Jack and Rich selected West Ham as their Team of the Week. Do you agree?
  3. Rich picked Andre Schurrle's goal for Fulham as Goal of the Week? Did you see it? Do you agree?
  4. Use this week's vocabulary: Do you agree that Man Utd's win against Spurs was a smash and grab? How many matches in a row do you think Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester Utd's team can win?

Don't forget to make your prediction for this week's Big Match!

Let's get the conversation started and create a community!

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Comentários

hsn's picture
hsn
17/02/2022
TR
5525
points

Phrases
• Being composure in all case which is I always admire this sort of person.
• If a team keeps clean sheet in a season and gets title, deserves standing ovation.
• Greedy people like to snatch everything-:) even they don't need some of them.
• At the cup match, sub-division team was on defending position generally but they had two breakaway and won the match.


hsn's picture
hsn
17/02/2022 17:28
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5525

Phrases
• Being composure in all case which is I always admire this sort of person.
• If a team keeps clean sheet in a season and gets title, deserves standing ovation.
• Greedy people like to snatch everything-:) even they don't need some of them.
• At the cup match, sub-division team was on defending position generally but they had two breakaway and won the match.

Khaldoun83's picture
Khaldoun83
18/01/2019
DZ
325
points

I agree with your choices for this week, especialy the player of the week and goal of the week, David Degea delivered a wonderful performance which allow his team to win the three point, while Andre Shurrle scored an astonishing goal. When it comes to West Ham I consider their breakaway goal doesn't allow them to win the team of the week award.

 


Khaldoun83's picture
Khaldoun83
18/01/2019 10:38
Algeria
Liverpool
325

I agree with your choices for this week, especialy the player of the week and goal of the week, David Degea delivered a wonderful performance which allow his team to win the three point, while Andre Shurrle scored an astonishing goal. When it comes to West Ham I consider their breakaway goal doesn't allow them to win the team of the week award.

 

Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
17/01/2019
BR
615
points

I completely agree with your choices this week. The performance of West Ham was very convincing to me and Schurle scored a beautiful goal.
De Gea played his best last Sunday and Man Utd's smash and grab win is due to him.
I think United can reach at least 10 wins in a row, however in the Champions League they may lose.


Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
17/01/2019 16:44
Brazil
Tottenham Hotspur
615

I completely agree with your choices this week. The performance of West Ham was very convincing to me and Schurle scored a beautiful goal.
De Gea played his best last Sunday and Man Utd's smash and grab win is due to him.
I think United can reach at least 10 wins in a row, however in the Champions League they may lose.

elghoul's picture
elghoul
15/01/2019
DZ
3988
points

The best goalkeeper in the world in my opinion had be able this week to win himself alone against a very good Spurs team.

West ham grabbed three points in this derby and they will be best inspired to tack lots of points in their numerous London derbies if they want to avoid relegation.

I was unhappy for not saying this Schurrle's goal.

Man Unit snatched this win of course but the run under the care manager is still on. Paul Pogba is happy with this new manager as he has been suffering under Morinho rule. Another four wins again in PL next matches wouldl be fine.


elghoul's picture
elghoul
15/01/2019 12:04
Algeria
Manchester City
3988

The best goalkeeper in the world in my opinion had be able this week to win himself alone against a very good Spurs team.

West ham grabbed three points in this derby and they will be best inspired to tack lots of points in their numerous London derbies if they want to avoid relegation.

I was unhappy for not saying this Schurrle's goal.

Man Unit snatched this win of course but the run under the care manager is still on. Paul Pogba is happy with this new manager as he has been suffering under Morinho rule. Another four wins again in PL next matches wouldl be fine.

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1mobeckham6510
2Alex_from_Ukraine6278
3hsn5525
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4768
6Liubomyr4408
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia71478
2Ukraine33300
3Spain28277
4Serbia27289
5Brazil23896
6Albania20578
7Vietnam19939
8Turkey19810
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United141846
2Liverpool110282
3Chelsea88559
4Arsenal85717
5Manchester City56951
6Tottenham Hotspur19169
7Newcastle United10457
8West Ham United7454
9AFC Bournemouth4454
10Crystal Palace4240

Level

3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Goals

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