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Kyle Walker and Sergio Aguero celebrating.

Matchweek 11: A Glancing Header

Matchweek 11: A Glancing Header

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 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 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.

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

Rich: Let’s start our round-up of Matchweek eleven with our headlines.

Headlines

Jack: City leave it late against Southampton.

Rich: Most thought this would be a walk in the park for Manchester City after Southampton lost 9-0 last weekend but City fans were pulling their hair out after James Ward Prowse gave the Saints a first half-lead. It took until the 70th minute for Sergio Aguero to find City’s equaliser and Kyle Walker broke Southampton hearts when he found the winner with four minutes to go.

Jack: Reds leave it even later against Villa.

Rich: Villa took a shock first-half lead against Liverpool when Trezeguet scored with a volley for the hosts. It looked like Villa would hang on for a famous victory but Andy Robertson scored a back-post header in the 87th minute and Sadio Mane scored with a beautifully placed glancing header in the fourth minute of injury time. Liverpool stay six points clear of City ahead of their big title clash on Sunday.

Jack: Andres Gomes in horror injury.

Rich: Turkish striker, Cenk Tosun, scored with a bullet header in injury-time for Everton but the match was overshadowed by a serious injury to Everton midfielder, Andres Gomes. The Portuguese international was stretchered off following a tackle from Tottenham’s Heung MIn Son and an awkward fall. The match finished one all.

Jack: Yes, we all wish Andres Gomes a speedy recovery.

Rich: There were also good wins for Leicester City, Chelsea, Sheffield United, Brighton and Newcastle United in Matchweek eleven.

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: a walk in the park, to pull your hair out, a volley, a glancing header, a bullet header and to be overshadowed by something.

Jack: Let’s start with the phrases we used to talk about the Manchester City - Southampton match. We said that many thought this match would be a walk in the park for City.

Rich: A walk in the park is something we do on a Sunday afternoon with family and friends or the dog. It’s easy and relaxing and there’s no need to rush or hurry.

Jack: And we use this idiom to describe something that is very easy to do and usually enjoyable. Many people thought that the match would be very easy for Manchester City - a walk in the park - but it wasn’t.

Rich: The next phrase is to pull your hair out. This is another idiom and it means to be very worried or frustrated about something.

Jack: City fans were pulling their hair out in the second half and Southampton were still winning. 

Rich: You can pull your hair out or tear your hair out. They mean the same thing. I’m tearing my hair out about my computer - I just can’t get it to work. 

Jack: Our next two phrases come from the Aston Villa - Liverpool match. The first is a volley. A volley is a shot which you hit when the ball is in the air.

Rich: You strike the ball before it bounces. If it bounces and then you hit it, it’s called a half-volley. It can also be a verb. He volleyed it into the goal. 

Jack: It’s also used in tennis to describe the same kind of shot. You have players that serve and volley.

Rich: Good knowledge. There’s also volleyball. Every shot is a volley in volleyball because the ball can’t touch the ground.

Jack: I think you’re right but I’m not sure as I don’t know enough about volleyball.

Rich: Right, our next phrase is a glancing header. We have a phrasal verb in English to glance off which means to hit something at an angle and move in a different direction.

Jack: This is why we use the term glancing header. The ball hits the head and goes in a different direction. 

Rich: But all headers do this - what makes a glancing header different?

Jack: A glancing header is not about power, it’s about angles. The player usually only touches the ball a little to change the angle slightly. A glancing header is often needed if a player is at the front post.

Rich: Finally, let’s look at the phrases from the Everton - Tottenham match. We said that Cenk Tosun scored with a bullet header.

Jack: This is very much the opposite of a glancing header. The ball is crossed into the box, usually at speed, and the striker throws his head onto the ball and the ball flies into the net like a bullet.

Rich: They are usually quite spectacular. Or final phrase this week is to be overshadowed by something. We said that the Everton match was overshadowed by the injury to Andre Gomes.

Jack: To be overshadowed by something means an event is less enjoyable because of an action that happened. 

Rich: So, the football match was less enjoyable because of the horrible injury that happened on the pitch. The match was overshadowed by the injury to Gomes.

Jack: 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.

Rich: The words and phrases are:  a walk in the park, to pull your hair out, a volley, a glancing header, a bullet header and to be overshadowed by something.

Football Awards

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

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

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

Rich: Let’s start with Player of the Week. Kyle Walker rescued the game for City with a goal and an assist and Sadio Mane rescued Liverpool even later.

Jack: But our Player of the Week is Caglar Soyuncu. Leicester City’s Turkish defender scored at the weekend but more importantly helped the Foxes keep another clean sheet. No team has conceded fewer goals than Leicester this season.

Rich: Team of the Week is tricky this week. There were great comeback wins for Manchester City and Liverpool, and Chelsea and Leicester carry on winning.

Jack: But our Team of the Week is Sheffield United. A 3-0 win and the Blades are up to sixth place. Not many would have predicted that at the start of the season.

Rich: 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.

Jack: Goal number one: Jonjo Shelvey for Newcastle Utd against West Ham. A precise free-kick that turned out to be the winner for the Magpies.

Rich: Goal number two: Trezeguet for Aston Villa versus Liverpool. A nice volley for the Egyptian’s first goal for the club.

Jack: Goal number three: Cenk Tosun for Everton v Tottenham. A bullet header from the Turkish striker to grab a point for the Toffees in injury time.

Rich: 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. Not a bad prediction last week, Rich?

Rich: I know. Lots of people thought Manchester City would smash Southampton but I knew it would be much closer.

Jack: This weekend is the biggest match of the season so far. The top two go head to head at Anfield. Let’s hear your prediction.

Rich: Liverpool play Manchester City with a six-point cushion at the top of the table. A Liverpool win would create a big gap at the top and I think Liverpool will go for it and set up to win. I’m not sure that City will go all out to win and might not be too unhappy with a point. For this reason, I think we might see a low scoring match. I’m going to sit on the fence with this one and predict a draw. Final score: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City.

Jack: I think City need to win this more than Liverpool so I think City will win 2-1.

Rich: Let us know in the comments section how many goals you think City will score against Southampton.

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: Bye for now and enjoy your football.

Results

Matchweek 11:

Watford 1-2 Chelsea

West Ham 2-3 Newcastle Utd

Sheffiield United 3-0 Burnley

Brighton 2-0 Norwich City

Manchester City 2-1 Southampton

Arsenal 1-1 Wolves

Everton 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool

Crystal Palace 0-2 Leicester City

Bournemouth 1-0 Manchester Utd

Headlines

City leave it late against Southampton

Kyle Walker scored one and made the other.

Most thought this would be a walk in the park for Manchester City after Southampton lost 9-0 last weekend but City fans were pulling their hair out after James Ward Prowse gave the Saints a first half-lead. It took until the 70th minute for Sergio Aguero to find City’s equaliser and Kyle Walker broke Southampton hearts when he found the winner with four minutes to go.

Headlines

Reds leave it even later against Villa

Sadio Mane scores with a glancing header.

Villa took a shock first-half lead against Liverpool when Trezeguet scored with a volley for the hosts. It looked like Villa would hang on for a famous victory but Andy Robertson scored a back-post header in the 87th minute and Sadio Mane scored with a beautifully placed glancing header in the fourth minute of injury time. Liverpool stay six points clear of City ahead of their big title clash on Sunday.

Headlines

Andres Gomes in horror injury

Andre Gomes leaves the pitch on a stretcher.

Turkish striker, Cenk Tosun, scored with a bullet header in injury-time for Everton but the match was overshadowed by a serious injury to Everton midfielder, Andres Gomes. The Portuguese international was stretchered off following a tackle from Tottenham’s Heung MIn Son and an awkward fall. The match finished one all. 

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?

Most thought this would be a walk in the park for Manchester City. A walk in the park is an idiom we use to describe something that is easy and enjoyable.

City fans were pulling their hair out after James Ward Prowse gave the Saints a first half-lead.  This is an idiom that means very worried or frustrated about something.

Trezeguet scored with a volley for the hosts.  A volley is a shot which you hit when the ball is in the air.

Mane scored with a beautifully placed glancing header.  A glancing header is not about power, it’s about angles.  A glancing header is often needed if a player is at the front post.

Cenk Tosun scored with a bullet header in injury-time.  The ball flies into the net like a bullet.

The match was overshadowed by a serious injury to Everton midfielder, Andres Gomes.  To be overshadowed by something means an event is less enjoyable because of an action that happened. 

Kyle Walker celebrates his winning goal against Southampton.

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?

Sheffield United are our Team of the Week.

Player of the Week:  Caglar Soyuncu (Leicester City)

Team of the Week: Sheffield Utd

Goal of the Week: Look at the three options from Matchweek 11 and let us know which goal was best in the comments section!

Goal 1

Jonjo Shelvey for Newcastle Utd against West Ham.

Goal 2

Trezeguet for Aston Villa versus Liverpool.

Goal 3

Cenk Tosun for Everton v Tottenham.

The Big Match

Liverpool v Manchester City

It's Liverpool against Manchester CIty on Sunday.

The big match this weekend is Liverpool v Manchester City. The top two clash at Anfield Rich thinks it will finish ... as a draw! Do you agree?

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

Football Chat

What do you think?

Jamie Vardy is the Premier League's top scorer with 10 goals.

Jack and Rich have spoken about Matchweek 11 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 Leicester City's Canglar Soyuncu as Player of the Week. Do you agree? 
  2. Jack and Rich selected Sheffield 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: What do you often pull your hair out about? What's the best volley you can remember?
  5. Can you use 'a walk in the park', 'a bullet header' or 'a glancing header' in a sentence?

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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Comments

hsn's picture
hsn
05/01/2022
TR
5560
points

Phrases
• This match supposed to be a walk in the park for home team.But they lived a nightmare.
• This project caused company to lose many customers .Absolutely a frustration, the manager is pulling his hair out now.
• At the corner kick, the opponent player was standing with his back to the post, the ball glanced off back of his head. He wasn't seeing where it's going. A glance header scored a goal. He couldn't believe.
• All of his sporty successes overshadowed by the negative result of doping test.
Note
• Instead of “bullet header” and "pulling hair" we say “header like a shoot” and "plucking hair"-:)


hsn's picture
hsn
05/01/2022 10:29
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5560

Phrases
• This match supposed to be a walk in the park for home team.But they lived a nightmare.
• This project caused company to lose many customers .Absolutely a frustration, the manager is pulling his hair out now.
• At the corner kick, the opponent player was standing with his back to the post, the ball glanced off back of his head. He wasn't seeing where it's going. A glance header scored a goal. He couldn't believe.
• All of his sporty successes overshadowed by the negative result of doping test.
Note
• Instead of “bullet header” and "pulling hair" we say “header like a shoot” and "plucking hair"-:)

catcat's picture
catcat
16/11/2019
TR
18
points

turkish football players so succesfully


catcat's picture
catcat
16/11/2019 22:10
Turkey
Everton
18

turkish football players so succesfully

elghoul's picture
elghoul
06/11/2019
DZ
3988
points

1. I find it great giving the week award to the yet to be discovered by everybody as an effective defender who is the key of Leicester defence. Canglar Soyuncu the Turkish player is up to take MacGuire place.

2. Sheffield United are best team this week, that makes them able to stay in PL.

3. Cenk Tosun is another Turkish player to be awarded. His goal was important for the Toffees.

4. Zidane kicked a wonderful volley when he played for Real Madrid. This shot is often shoeed in the Zidane's highlights. However I am still tearing my hair out for Zidane'fate as a manager before next match between Real and Galatasarey on Champions League.

5. For the two top PL teams the next EFL cup round is being viewed as a walk in the park because their opponents are  ranking in the fourth league.

I prefer glancing headers to bullet ones.

Prediction City 3 Liverpool 2


elghoul's picture
elghoul
06/11/2019 13:00
Algeria
Manchester City
3988

1. I find it great giving the week award to the yet to be discovered by everybody as an effective defender who is the key of Leicester defence. Canglar Soyuncu the Turkish player is up to take MacGuire place.

2. Sheffield United are best team this week, that makes them able to stay in PL.

3. Cenk Tosun is another Turkish player to be awarded. His goal was important for the Toffees.

4. Zidane kicked a wonderful volley when he played for Real Madrid. This shot is often shoeed in the Zidane's highlights. However I am still tearing my hair out for Zidane'fate as a manager before next match between Real and Galatasarey on Champions League.

5. For the two top PL teams the next EFL cup round is being viewed as a walk in the park because their opponents are  ranking in the fourth league.

I prefer glancing headers to bullet ones.

Prediction City 3 Liverpool 2

Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
05/11/2019
BR
615
points

1. Good choice, but I am going to choose Kyle Walker as the Player of the Week because he scored one and made the other.
2. I definitely agree with this choice.
3. From these three options, I choose Jonjo Shelvey's free-kick for Newcastle United. But, my favorite goal this week was scored by Jamie Vardy, sealing Leicester win against Palace after an amazing sequence of passes.
4. I often pull my hair out about politics, especially when the Brazil president says nonsense things. It is hard to remember the best volley I have ever seen, but one of them is Zinedine Zidane's volley for Real Madrid against Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final.
5. I am one of those who thought City was going to a walk in the park last Saturday.


Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
05/11/2019 12:12
Brazil
Tottenham Hotspur
615

1. Good choice, but I am going to choose Kyle Walker as the Player of the Week because he scored one and made the other.
2. I definitely agree with this choice.
3. From these three options, I choose Jonjo Shelvey's free-kick for Newcastle United. But, my favorite goal this week was scored by Jamie Vardy, sealing Leicester win against Palace after an amazing sequence of passes.
4. I often pull my hair out about politics, especially when the Brazil president says nonsense things. It is hard to remember the best volley I have ever seen, but one of them is Zinedine Zidane's volley for Real Madrid against Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final.
5. I am one of those who thought City was going to a walk in the park last Saturday.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
04/11/2019
UA
6578
points

Aston Villa supporters were pulling their hair out when the final whistle blew.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
04/11/2019 22:32
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Aston Villa supporters were pulling their hair out when the final whistle blew.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
04/11/2019
UA
6578
points

For both Liverpool and ManCity their next clash won't be a walk in the park but in any case the game mustn't be overshadowed by any horror tackles and serious injuries.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
04/11/2019 22:30
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

For both Liverpool and ManCity their next clash won't be a walk in the park but in any case the game mustn't be overshadowed by any horror tackles and serious injuries.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
04/11/2019
UA
6578
points

We've seen quite a few bullet headers from various EPL players but Sadio Mane's stunning and gallant glancing header in the 94-th minute is a marvel.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
04/11/2019 22:25
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

We've seen quite a few bullet headers from various EPL players but Sadio Mane's stunning and gallant glancing header in the 94-th minute is a marvel.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
04/11/2019
UA
6578
points

Liverpool 2 : 1 Manchester City


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
04/11/2019 16:59
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Liverpool 2 : 1 Manchester City

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.

Practise your listening skills.

Make your prediction for next week's big Premier League match.