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Matchweek 23: In the bag

Matchweek 23: In the bag

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, Rich and Jack talk about the latest action from the Premier League and have lots of football English for you to learn.

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, Rich and Jack talk about the latest action from the Premier League 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  

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

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

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

Rich: If you listen to us on Apple Podcasts, you can leave your comments in the review section. We do read all the reviews and would love to hear from you.

Jack: Remember we are looking for people to interview in our podcasts. If you want to practise your English skills and answer a few questions just email us at premierskills@britishcouncil.org and we’ll write back to you.

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

Jack: Don’t forget that we also have our weekly Premier Skills English Podcast that is released every Friday. Every week we help you with some different vocabulary or an aspect of grammar.

Rich: In our latest podcast, I speak about my new dog and we help you with the present perfect continuous. You can find the lesson on the Premier Skills English homepage, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most other podcast platforms now. 

Jack: Let’s start this week’s show by reviewing the Premier League action from Matchweek 23.

Headlines

Jack: City stumble against Palace.

Rich: Crystal Palace got a surprise point at Manchester City when they held the Champions to a two-all draw. Cenk Tosun, on loan from Everton, shocked the Etihad when he put the visitors ahead. It looked like Sergio Aguero had turned the game on its head with two goals in the final 10 minutes, but Palace got a deserved equaliser when Fernandinho put the ball in his own net.

Jack: The title is surely in the bag for Liverpool.

Rich: Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0 to go 16 points clear at the top with 16 games left to play. The result against their fiercest rivals surely means nobody can stop the Reds now but Jurgen Klopp poured cold water on that idea saying that his focus is just on the next game. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah got the goals that won the game for the Reds.

Jack: Wolves turn it around against Saints.

Rich: Wolves earned a spectacular 3-2 win at Southampton after coming back from 2-0 down at half-time. Goals from Jan Bednarek and Shane Long put in-form Saints ahead and they were coasting at half-time. However, a goal from Pedro Neto and two goals from Raul Jimenez completed the fightback. No team has earned more points from losing positions this season than Wolves.

Jack: There was also a fightback at Burnley as the Clarets defeated Leicester. Newcastle beat Chelsea with an injury-time winner and Norwich got an important win in their bottom of the table clash with Bournemouth.

Vocabulary alert!

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

Rich: Our six words and phrases this week are: to be in the bag, to pour cold water on something, to be on loan, to turn a game on its head, to be coasting and fightback.

Jack: Let’s start with the phrases we used to talk about Liverpool’s win over Manchester United.

Rich: We said that the title is surely in the bag for Liverpool.

Jack: To be in the bag is an idiom and it describes something that you are certain or virtually certain to get or achieve.

Rich: We were saying that the title is in the bag for Liverpool - they are certain or virtually certain to win it. Nobody can stop them.

Jack: We can use it outside of football, too. Listen to this:

Rich: Hey Jack. How did the job interview go?

Jack: It went really well. They loved me.

Rich: The job’s in the bag then?

Jack: The job’s in the bag, Rich. Just waiting for that call.

Rich: The next phrase is also an idiom. We said that Jurgen Klopp poured cold water on the idea that the title is in the bag.

Jack: To pour cold water on something means to criticize an idea and the phrase is used to stop people getting too excited about something.

Rich: Jurgen Klopp doesn’t want the players to get too excited because the title isn’t won yet and he’s poured cold water on the idea that the title is won already. He says the team needs to think about one match at a time.

Jack: Let’s speak about Crystal Palace’s draw at Manchester City. We said Cenk Tosun scored first for Palace. Tosun is on loan from Everton.

Rich: On loan means to be playing for a team temporarily. A permanent transfer has not been completed. Usually, a player is on loan for a season or a month. We often hear the phrase a season-long loan.

Jack: A player is on loan at one club and from another club. Tosun is on loan at Crystal Palace. Tosun is on loan from Everton.

Rich: We said that Sergio Aguero turned the game on its head. This is another idiom. It means to turn something around - to completely change something or make the opposite happen.

Jack: Palace were winning then Sergio Aguero turned the game on its head by scoring twice to make the score 2-1 to City.

Rich: Finally, let’s talk about that fightback from Wolves at Southampton.

Jack: Yes, and the first word is fightback. We said Raul Jimenez completed the fightback for Wolves. A fightback is an attempt to win from a losing position.

Rich: Fightback can be a noun or a phrasal verb. Wolves fought back from 2-0 down. Raul Jimenez completed the fightback for Wolves.

Jack: Our final phrase this week is to be coasting. We said Southampton were coasting at half-time.

Rich: To be coasting means to be succeeding without making much effort. 

Jack: For example, a team coasts to victory when they are four nil up and there are only a few minutes left and the other team has given up.

Rich: OK, so there are our six words and phrases. Listen to this part of the podcast again if you are not sure how to use them.

Jack: The words and phrases are:  to be in the bag, to pour cold water on something, to be on loan, to turn a game on its head, to be coasting and fightback.

Football Awards

Jack: Right, every week, we give out three Matchweek awards. 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. Virgil van Dijk and Jordan Henderson were superb for Liverpool and Sergio Aguero never stops scoring.

Rich: But we’re going to go for a Wolves player for that superb fightback. Adama Traore was fantastic but we’re going to choose Raul Jimenez. The Mexican striker has been involved in more Premier League goals than any other player this season.

Jack: Now Team of the Week. We could go for Liverpool or Wolves or maybe Crystal Palace for their draw at Manchester City.

Rich: But we’re going to go with Newcastle United for their win against Chelsea. It’s always good to get a last-minute winner and even sweeter when it’s against a club in the top four.

Jack: Finally, our Goal of the Week. We’re going to leave this one to you. We’re going to give you three options and you need to tell us which you think was best.

Rich: Goal number one: Jack Grealish for Aston Villa against Brighton. Another brilliant finish by the Villa captain. A fantastic ball from Douglas Luiz followed by great control to go past one defender and score.

Jack: Goal number two: Sergio Aguero for Manchester City against Crystal Palace. His second was a brilliantly controlled header.

Rich: Goal number three: Mohamed Salah for Liverpool against Manchester United. A fast breakaway, Salah holds off the defender and fires home to finish off Manchester United.

Jack: OK. Those are our three options. Did you see them? Which do you think was the best? Let us know your choice and if you agree with our other weekly awards in our comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Matchweek Prediction 

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

Rich: Last week we both went for Liverpool wins. Not a difficult prediction to get right.

Jack: No, but it’s the FA Cup this week so anything can happen.

Rich: That’s right. Matchweek 24 in the Premier League is in midweek but to give you a chance to get your predictions in we’re going to look at an FA Cup fourth-round match.

Jack: And a chance of a giant-killing.

Rich: That’s right. One of the big matches is Shrewsbury Town of League one up against Liverpool - the Champions of Europe and runaway Premier League leaders. Now, this match should only finish one way, in a massive win for Liverpool but, you know, Liverpool might play a few reserves and they might think they are going to coast to victory. For Shrewsbury, it will be the biggest match of their careers. Funny things happen in the Cup and I’m going to predict the biggest giant-killing in the history of the cup. Final score: Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Liverpool

Jack: You’ve got to be joking. I live near Shrewsbury and it would be great if they could but they can’t. 3-0 to Liverpool and it’s Shrewsbury, not Shrewsbury.

Rich: Sorry. Shrewsbury to win one-nil. You heard it here first.

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 on the Premier Skills English website. 

Rich: If you listen to us on Apple Podcasts, don’t forget to leave us a review. We’d love to hear from you. 

Jack: If you have any questions or comments or suggestions for the podcast or anything football or English related, you can leave them on the website in the comments section, on social media - on Facebook or Twitter, on apple podcasts or you can email us at premierskills@britishcouncil.org.

Rich: Remember you can also email us if you want to practise your English skills and answer a few questions for a future podcast.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football.

Results

Matchweek 23:

Burnley 2-1 Leicester City

Southampton 2-3 Wolves

Arsenal 1-1 Sheffield United

Norwich City 1-0 Bournemouth

Manchester City 1-1 Crystal Palace

Brighton 1-1 Aston Villa

Watford 0-0 Tottenham

Newcastle 1-0 Chelsea

West Ham 1-1 Everton

Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United

Headlines

City stumble against Palace

Cenk Tosun scored his first goal for Palace against City.

Crystal Palace got a surprise point at Manchester City when they held the Champions to a two-all draw. Cenk Tosun, on loan from Everton, shocked the Etihad when he put the visitors ahead. It looked like Sergio Aguero had turned the game on its head with two goals in the final 10 minutes, but Palace got a deserved equaliser when Fernandinho put the ball in his own net.

Headlines

The title is surely in the bag for Liverpool

Virgil van Dijk scores the opening goal for Liverpool.

Liverpool beat Manchester United 2-0 to go 16 points clear at the top with 16 games left to play. The result against their fiercest rivals surely means nobody can stop the Reds now but Jurgen Klopp poured cold water on that idea saying that his focus is just on the next game. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah got the goals that won the game for the Reds.

Headlines

Wolves turn it around against Saints

Raul Jimenez scored twice for Wolves.

Wolves earned a spectacular 3-2 win at Southampton after coming back from 2-0 down at half-time. Goals from Jan Bednarek and Shane Long put in-form Saints ahead and they were coasting at half-time. However, a goal from Pedro Neto and two goals from Raul Jimenez completed the fightback. No team has earned more points from losing positions this season than Wolves.

Vocabulary Alert

Football English

We looked at six pieces of football English that you can learn to improve your English. Take a look at the phrases in bold. Do you understand what they mean?

The title is surely in the bag for Liverpool. To be in the bag is an idiom and it describes something that you are certain or virtually certain to get or achieve.

Jurgen Klopp poured cold water on the idea that the title race is over.  To pour cold water on something means to criticize an idea and Klopp used it to stop people getting too excited about the title race.

Cenk Tosun, on loan from Everton, put the visitors ahead. On loan means to be playing for a team temporarily while under contract at a different club. 

Sergio Aguero turned the game on its head with two goals in the final 10 minutes.  This idiom means to turn something around - to completely change something or make the opposite happen.

The Saints were coasting at half-time. To be coasting means to be succeeding without making much effort. 

 Raul Jimenez completed the fightback for Wolves. A fightback is an attempt to win from a losing position.

Sergio Aguero scored twice for City.

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.

Matchweek Awards

Do you agree with our choices?

Newcastle are our team of the week!

Player of the Week: Raul Jimenez (Wolves)

Team of the Week: Newcastle United

Goal of the Week: Look at the three options from Matchweek 23 and let us know which goal was best in the comments section!

Goal 1

Jack Grealish for Aston Villa against Brighton.

Goal 2

Sergio Aguero for Manchester City against Crystal Palace

Goal 3

Mohamed Salah for Liverpool against Manchester United. 

The Big Match

Shrewsbury Town v Liverpool

Can Shrewsbury provide a shock in the FA Cup?

The big match this weekend is an FA Cup 4th round meeting between Shrewsbury Town and Liverpool. Rich thinks we might see one of the all-time cupsets but Jack doubts this very much.

What are your predictions? Have a listen to what Rich says and then make your prediction and talk about any of next weekend's matches below.

Football Chat

What do you think?

Jack Grealish scored another stunner last weekend.

Jack and Rich have spoken about Matchweek 23 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 Wolverhampton Wanderer's Raul Jimenez as Player of the Week. Do you agree? 
  2. Jack and Rich selected Newcastle United as their Team of the Week. Do you agree?
  3. Rich and Jack picked three goals for the Goal of the Week award? Did you see them? Which do you think was best?
  4. Use this week's vocabulary: Do Liverpool have the title in the bag? Can another team turn the title race on its head?
  5. Can you use 'on loan', 'pour cold water on something' or 'fightback' in a sentence?

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Comentários

hsn's picture
hsn
25/12/2021
TR
5560
points

Phrases
• SMEs generally stumble against tycoon companies in the market.
• Contract now in the bag, we offered best price for this tender.
• Minister of working poured cold water on the expectation of pay rise by saying it's not in their agenda.


hsn's picture
hsn
25/12/2021 17:40
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5560

Phrases
• SMEs generally stumble against tycoon companies in the market.
• Contract now in the bag, we offered best price for this tender.
• Minister of working poured cold water on the expectation of pay rise by saying it's not in their agenda.

elghoul's picture
elghoul
25/01/2020
DZ
3988
points

1. Wolves are strong this season and their striker Jimenez keeps on playing effectively.

2. Newcastle United did good this week winning against Chelsea.

3. Jack Grealish is one of the top scorer this season that's why I choose his goal as the best of the three.

4. Liverpool with his scientific coaching have the title on their bag and I do not see any team turning the title race on its head.

5. When you get a player on loan you can spare money and give him a chance to play. He get the opportunity to fightback and win if there is not some bad chap to pour cold water on his reputation.

Prediction : Schrewsbury 2 Liverpool 1


elghoul's picture
elghoul
25/01/2020 11:29
Algeria
Manchester City
3988

1. Wolves are strong this season and their striker Jimenez keeps on playing effectively.

2. Newcastle United did good this week winning against Chelsea.

3. Jack Grealish is one of the top scorer this season that's why I choose his goal as the best of the three.

4. Liverpool with his scientific coaching have the title on their bag and I do not see any team turning the title race on its head.

5. When you get a player on loan you can spare money and give him a chance to play. He get the opportunity to fightback and win if there is not some bad chap to pour cold water on his reputation.

Prediction : Schrewsbury 2 Liverpool 1

wsanta's picture
wsanta
24/01/2020
AR
5086
points

My prediction
Shrewsbury Town 0-3 Liverpool


wsanta's picture
wsanta
24/01/2020 04:24
Argentina
Leeds United
5086

My prediction
Shrewsbury Town 0-3 Liverpool

ldzingirai's picture
ldzingirai
23/01/2020
ZW
1749
points

10-men Arsenal fighback poured cold water on Frank Lampard's lead. Chelsea thought it had three points in the bag when one of Arsenal's players was given marching orders.


ldzingirai's picture
ldzingirai
23/01/2020 16:46
Zimbabwe
Chelsea
1749

10-men Arsenal fighback poured cold water on Frank Lampard's lead. Chelsea thought it had three points in the bag when one of Arsenal's players was given marching orders.

ldzingirai's picture
ldzingirai
23/01/2020
ZW
1749
points

Prediction

I don't see Liverpool falling against lower league teams unless it fields its reserve team. No giant killing here. Shrewsbury 0-5 Liverpool.


ldzingirai's picture
ldzingirai
23/01/2020 16:30
Zimbabwe
Chelsea
1749

Prediction

I don't see Liverpool falling against lower league teams unless it fields its reserve team. No giant killing here. Shrewsbury 0-5 Liverpool.

ldzingirai's picture
ldzingirai
23/01/2020
ZW
1749
points

Liverpool's PL title is absolutely in the bag; however, Manchester City's and Leicester City's title is half in the bag.
Statically, the Reds have numerical advantage: it met some of the top four teams; it has a game in hand; injury free squad , and most importantly only a handful of games remains.

I was surprised when I dug the history of the two expressions-- be in the bag (certain) and half in the bag (doubt). Word experts differ on how these expressions originated from---hunting or drinking.


ldzingirai's picture
ldzingirai
23/01/2020 16:27
Zimbabwe
Chelsea
1749

Liverpool's PL title is absolutely in the bag; however, Manchester City's and Leicester City's title is half in the bag.
Statically, the Reds have numerical advantage: it met some of the top four teams; it has a game in hand; injury free squad , and most importantly only a handful of games remains.

I was surprised when I dug the history of the two expressions-- be in the bag (certain) and half in the bag (doubt). Word experts differ on how these expressions originated from---hunting or drinking.

Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
22/01/2020
BR
615
points

I agree with your choices this week, although I was going to choose Burnley's goalkeeper Nick Pope as the Player of the Week. I think Mohamed Salah's goal for Liverpool was the best this week.
I feel that Liverpool have the title in the bag.
It seems that Newcastle United are the kings of late goals, pouring cold water on their opponents' defence.


Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
22/01/2020 12:18
Brazil
Tottenham Hotspur
615

I agree with your choices this week, although I was going to choose Burnley's goalkeeper Nick Pope as the Player of the Week. I think Mohamed Salah's goal for Liverpool was the best this week.
I feel that Liverpool have the title in the bag.
It seems that Newcastle United are the kings of late goals, pouring cold water on their opponents' defence.

wsanta's picture
wsanta
21/01/2020
AR
5086
points

Wow what prediction you made Rich.
When someone predicts a sport score very difficult to believe that it happens, in my country, we say it's a "batacazo". How would you say in English?.


wsanta's picture
wsanta
21/01/2020 12:20
Argentina
Leeds United
5086

Wow what prediction you made Rich.
When someone predicts a sport score very difficult to believe that it happens, in my country, we say it's a "batacazo". How would you say in English?.

ldzingirai's picture
ldzingirai
23/01/2020
ZW
1749
points

I hope the word will find its way into English. I like it. I can't rule out Rich's prediction. Any outcome is possible in football. Let's wait and see after 90 minutes.


ldzingirai's picture
ldzingirai
23/01/2020 16:39
Zimbabwe
Chelsea
1749

I hope the word will find its way into English. I like it. I can't rule out Rich's prediction. Any outcome is possible in football. Let's wait and see after 90 minutes.

admin's picture
admin
21/01/2020
GB
560
points

Ha ha - Rich will be back tomorrow. I searched for a translation of batacazo and it's not a fluke. Well, a fluke is a very lucky win or just a lucky accident - but I don't think that's what you're looking for. I think that Rich's prediction could be called crazy, but I'm not sure we have a phrase that means crazy prediction.


admin's picture
admin
21/01/2020 13:11
United Kingdom
Arsenal
560

Ha ha - Rich will be back tomorrow. I searched for a translation of batacazo and it's not a fluke. Well, a fluke is a very lucky win or just a lucky accident - but I don't think that's what you're looking for. I think that Rich's prediction could be called crazy, but I'm not sure we have a phrase that means crazy prediction.

wsanta's picture
wsanta
21/01/2020
AR
5086
points

Thank you very much Jack for answering me.
Here I leave definitions of the word "batacazo", in case anyone is interested.
-Unexpected result, something unexpected.
-Success, triumph or event fortunate and surprising or unforeseen .
-In the turf (horse racing), an unexpected triumph of a horse in a race that by having few supporters, gives a good dividend.


wsanta's picture
wsanta
21/01/2020 20:36
Argentina
Leeds United
5086

Thank you very much Jack for answering me.
Here I leave definitions of the word "batacazo", in case anyone is interested.
-Unexpected result, something unexpected.
-Success, triumph or event fortunate and surprising or unforeseen .
-In the turf (horse racing), an unexpected triumph of a horse in a race that by having few supporters, gives a good dividend.

Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
22/01/2020
BR
615
points

Hi,
And in Brazil, we use the funny word 'zebra' to describe these unexpected results.


Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
22/01/2020 10:56
Brazil
Tottenham Hotspur
615

Hi,
And in Brazil, we use the funny word 'zebra' to describe these unexpected results.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
20/01/2020
UA
6578
points

Shrewsbury Town  0 : 2  Liverpool


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
20/01/2020 18:02
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Shrewsbury Town  0 : 2  Liverpool

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
20/01/2020
UA
6578
points

Player of the Week: Sergio Aguero with a gracious brace

Team of the Week: Wolverhampton with a stunning comeback

Goal of the Week: Mo Salah with his Alisson-inspired breakaway : running half the pitch, fighting off the annoying defender and nutmegging generally reliable De Gea.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
20/01/2020 17:39
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Player of the Week: Sergio Aguero with a gracious brace

Team of the Week: Wolverhampton with a stunning comeback

Goal of the Week: Mo Salah with his Alisson-inspired breakaway : running half the pitch, fighting off the annoying defender and nutmegging generally reliable De Gea.

admin's picture
admin
21/01/2020
GB
560
points

I love the phrase - a gracious brace. It's beautifully sibilant and very apt. 


admin's picture
admin
21/01/2020 09:57
United Kingdom
Arsenal
560

I love the phrase - a gracious brace. It's beautifully sibilant and very apt. 

Renatoliv
20/01/2020
BR
1
points

Hi! In my opinion, Liverpool is the team of the week, to be honest, it is the team of the season. And the most beautiful goal was scored by Mo Salah yesterday.


Renatoliv
20/01/2020 14:13
Brazil
Liverpool
1

Hi! In my opinion, Liverpool is the team of the week, to be honest, it is the team of the season. And the most beautiful goal was scored by Mo Salah yesterday.

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1Alex_from_Ukraine6578
2mobeckham6539
3hsn5560
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4779
6Liubomyr4417
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia74676
2Ukraine33885
3Spain29525
4Serbia27426
5Brazil23505
6Albania20578
7Vietnam20460
8Turkey20111
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United146938
2Liverpool111453
3Chelsea90265
4Arsenal86299
5Manchester City58908
6Tottenham Hotspur19499
7Newcastle United10626
8West Ham United7701
9AFC Bournemouth4915
10Crystal Palace4568

Level

3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Goals

Improve your football English.

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