Club Profiles

AFC Bournemouth club badge
Arsenal
Aston Villa Club badge
Brentford badge
Brighton and Hove Albion club badge
Burnley FC club badge
Chelsea club badge
Crystal Palace badge
Everton
Liverpool badge
Manchester City badge
Manchester United badge
Newcastle United club badge
Nottingham Forest club badge
Sheffield United badge
Spurs badge
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Hugo Lloris saves a penalty.

Matchweek 29 - Leapfrog

Matchweek 29 - Leapfrog

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  

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 with our headlines!

Headlines

Jack: Liverpool held to derby day draw.

Rich: Liverpool dropped another two points in the race for the Premier League title as they were held by a battling Everton team in the Merseyside Derby.

Jack: City leapfrog Liverpool into first.

Rich: Manchester CIty’s 1-0 win away at Bournemouth took City back to the top of the Premier League. Riyad Mahrez got the winner and City are one point clear with nine games to play.

Jack: Arsenal pay the penalty against Spurs.

Rich: The North London Derby finished one-all but Arsenal missed a last-minute player and had a player sent off in injury time. Aaron Ramsey gave Arsenal the lead but Harry Kane scored from the spot to level the scores. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang had the chance to win it for Arsenal but his tame spot-kick was straight at Hugo Lloris in the Tottenham goal.

Jack: Arsenal should’ve won that. I thought they were really unlucky.

Rich: Yeah, they played really well. I wish Liverpool had played as well in their derby against Everton.

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: derby, to drop points, battling, leapfrog, to score from the spot, and tame.

Jack: Our first phrase is derby. A derby is a match between two teams from the same city or region. Last weekend was the North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham and the Merseyside Derby between Liverpool and Everton.

Rich: Merseyside is the region of North West England which Liverpool is in.

Jack: Our next phrase is to drop points. This is the number of points you don’t earn by drawing or losing a game. Liverpool dropped two points against Everton because they only drew.

Rich: We usually talk about the teams at the top dropping points because it is expected that they usually win.

Jack: Everton gave a battling performance. The word battling is used as an adjective here and means to fight and try very hard.

Rich: The next phrase is to leapfrog. The phrase means to get to a higher position in a ranking or table by going past someone else or another team.

Jack: Like a frog jumps or leaps over something.

Rich: Exactly. Manchester City leapfrogged Liverpool last weekend to go to the top of the table.

Jack: The next phrase is to score from the spot. The spot is the penalty spot so to score from the spot means to score a penalty.

Rich: Harry Kane scored from the spot. However, if you hit a poor penalty without much power your penalty might be described as tame.

Jack: Tame is the opposite of wild. Aubameyang’s tame penalty was easily saved by Hugo Lloris.

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. There were some strong performances in Matchweek 29.

Jack: Aaron Wan-Bissaka looks like a great player for Crystal Palace, Hugo lloris made that last minute penalty save and Declan Rice played well for West Ham.

Rich: But our Player of the Week is Manchester Utd’s  Romelu Lukaku. Two brilliant goals including a last-minute winner kept United’s good run going.

Jack: What about our Team of the Week? 

Rich: We could go for West Ham, Chelsea, City, United, Wolves or Watford who all had good runs but we’re going for Crystal Palace.

Jack: A great 3-1 away win for the Eagles and they are flying at the moment.

Rich: And, finally Goal of the Week. I think we’re just going to focus on one match - Manchester Utd’s 3-2 win against Southampton. There were so many brilliant goals in that one.

Jack: Lukaku’s were good and James Ward Prowse scored a special free-kick for Southampton but we’re going to go with Andreas Pereira’s long-range thunderbolt. Brilliant.

Matchweek Prediction 

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

Rich: Make your predictions on the Premier Skills English website. You get one point if you predict the right result and three points if you predict the right score.

Jack: What’s the big match in Matchweek 30?

Rich: It’s another fixture that is very important in the race for Champions League places. On Sunday, Arsenal host Manchester United. Both teams are in good form, United are still unbeaten in the Premier League under Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer and Arsenal are playing well and haven’t lost at home this year. I think there will be lots of goals in this one and I’m predicting that Arsenal will come out on top. Final score: Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United

Jack: I’d be happy with that result.

Rich: 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. 

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

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.

Results

Matchweek 29:

Tottenham 1-1 Arsenal

Bournemouth 0-1 Manchester City

Brighton 1-0 Huddersfield

Burnley 1-3 Crystal Palace

Manchester United 3-1 Southampton

Wolves 2-0 Cardiff City

West Ham 2-0 Newcastle Utd

Watford 2-1 Leicester City

Fulham 1-2 Chelsea

Everton 0-0 Liverpool

Everton battled hard and earned a point against Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby.

Vocabulary Alert

Football English

We looked at six words and phrases that you can learn to improve your English. Take a look at the phrases in bold. Do you undertand what they mean?

Liverpool held to derby day draw.

They were held by a battling Everton team.

City leapfrog Liverpool into first.

Harry Kane scored from the spot to level the scores.

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang had the chance to win it for Arsenal but his tame spot-kick was straight at Hugo Lloris.

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.

Riyad Mahrez got the winner against Bournemouth which meant City leapfrogged Liverpool into first place.

Matchweek Awards

Do you agree with our choices?

Player of the Week: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)

Romelu Lukaku scored twice including a last-minute winner as Manchester United came from behind to beat Southampton 3-2.

Team of the Week: Crystal Palace

Wilfried Zaha was on the scoresheet as Crystal Palace beat Burnley 3-1 away from home.

Goal of the Week: Andreas Pereira (Manchester United)

Andreas Pereira scored a brilliant goal in a game of brilliant goals. It was his first in the Premier League and he might not score any better than this!

The Big Match

Arsenal v Manchester United

The big match in Matchweek 30 is between Arsenal and Manchester United. Rich and Jack think Arsenal will win. 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?

Form

Premier League Prediction: Arsenal v Man Utd

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

Watford beat Leicester 2-1 to ruin Brendan Rodgers' first game as Leicester City manager.

Four Questions

What do you think?

Jack and Rich have spoken about Matchweek 27 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 Romelu Lukaku of Manchester United as Player of the Week. Do you agree? 
  2. Jack and Rich selected Crystal Palace as their Team of the Week. Do you agree?
  3. Rich picked Andreas Pereira's long-range thunderbolt for Manchester United as Goal of the Week? Did you see it? Do you agree?
  4. Use this week's vocabulary: Have Liverpool dropped too many points recently? What do you think is the biggest derby match in the Premier League? And the biggest derby in the world?

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

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

Leave a comment

Log in to leave a comment

Comments

hsn's picture
hsn
01/03/2022
TR
5560
points

Phrases
• Dropping points at the home matches by losing many of them is an alert to be relegated.
• Another version of "leapfrog" is very popular here. It's played by jumping one by one over the backs of kneeled player.
Riddle
Which phrase players never want to hear after scoring? "Flag is up" It means "off-side"-:)


hsn's picture
hsn
01/03/2022 15:27
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5560

Phrases
• Dropping points at the home matches by losing many of them is an alert to be relegated.
• Another version of "leapfrog" is very popular here. It's played by jumping one by one over the backs of kneeled player.
Riddle
Which phrase players never want to hear after scoring? "Flag is up" It means "off-side"-:)

hsn's picture
hsn
01/03/2022
TR
5560
points

Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) is master of long-range passes-:)
Getting this skill needs more practise as well as being talent.


hsn's picture
hsn
01/03/2022 09:45
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5560

Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) is master of long-range passes-:)
Getting this skill needs more practise as well as being talent.

lucas2007
15/03/2019
VN
2
points

In my opinion, the player of the week is Romelu Lukaku because he scored two goals for the Red Devil, and brought three points for Manchester United. For Team of the Week, Spurs is my choice because they had a battling game and they knew how to maintain the score. Finally, I think the goal of the week is Pereira's goal because he made a powerful kick, making it impossible for Agust Gunn to stop.


lucas2007
15/03/2019 11:10
Vietnam
Tottenham Hotspur
2

In my opinion, the player of the week is Romelu Lukaku because he scored two goals for the Red Devil, and brought three points for Manchester United. For Team of the Week, Spurs is my choice because they had a battling game and they knew how to maintain the score. Finally, I think the goal of the week is Pereira's goal because he made a powerful kick, making it impossible for Agust Gunn to stop.

elghoul's picture
elghoul
10/03/2019
DZ
3988
points

I totally agree with Rich and Jack choice of best player of the week. The well-known Romelu Lukaku was on the Man United front head in all its width.

Crystal Palace got the best away win this week against Burnley.

Andreas Pereira who is not Man United first stricker scored an outrageous long-range thunderbolt and deserves the best goal week award.

In this title race with only 9 plays to go, both Liverpool and City are in no need of dropping points. Every match must be carefully managed in order to grab all the three points. 

The biggest Premier League derby in my opinion is the London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea. In the world I prefer the Brezilian Botafogo Flamengo at Rio de Janeiro.


elghoul's picture
elghoul
10/03/2019 14:47
Algeria
Manchester City
3988

I totally agree with Rich and Jack choice of best player of the week. The well-known Romelu Lukaku was on the Man United front head in all its width.

Crystal Palace got the best away win this week against Burnley.

Andreas Pereira who is not Man United first stricker scored an outrageous long-range thunderbolt and deserves the best goal week award.

In this title race with only 9 plays to go, both Liverpool and City are in no need of dropping points. Every match must be carefully managed in order to grab all the three points. 

The biggest Premier League derby in my opinion is the London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea. In the world I prefer the Brezilian Botafogo Flamengo at Rio de Janeiro.

Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
10/03/2019
BR
615
points

I agree with all your choices this week.
Recently, not only Liverpool but also Tottenham have dropped too many points. This means that 10-point gap at the top of the league Liverpool had in January was gone completely.
In my opinion, Spurs x Arsenal is the biggest derby match in Premier League. Like England, in my country there are also many derby matches. In the world, I recognize Boca Juniors x River Plate, Roma x Lazio or Fenerbahçe x Galatasaray as huge rivalries but I would say Celtic x Rangers is the biggest derby match.


Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
10/03/2019 13:43
Brazil
Tottenham Hotspur
615

I agree with all your choices this week.
Recently, not only Liverpool but also Tottenham have dropped too many points. This means that 10-point gap at the top of the league Liverpool had in January was gone completely.
In my opinion, Spurs x Arsenal is the biggest derby match in Premier League. Like England, in my country there are also many derby matches. In the world, I recognize Boca Juniors x River Plate, Roma x Lazio or Fenerbahçe x Galatasaray as huge rivalries but I would say Celtic x Rangers is the biggest derby match.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
06/03/2019
UA
6578
points

Liverpool have, unfortunately,  dropped by far too many points recently. Indeed, it's better to lose once and win thrice (3 points lost) than to win once and play a draw thrice (6 points lost). The biggest derby matches are by teams from the same place : ManCity - Man U, Liverpool - Everton, if the teams are about the same strength of course.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
06/03/2019 19:34
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Liverpool have, unfortunately,  dropped by far too many points recently. Indeed, it's better to lose once and win thrice (3 points lost) than to win once and play a draw thrice (6 points lost). The biggest derby matches are by teams from the same place : ManCity - Man U, Liverpool - Everton, if the teams are about the same strength of course.

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1Alex_from_Ukraine6578
2mobeckham6539
3hsn5560
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4779
6Liubomyr4417
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia74689
2Ukraine33900
3Spain29544
4Serbia27426
5Brazil23661
6Albania20578
7Vietnam20460
8Turkey20111
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United147027
2Liverpool111542
3Chelsea90291
4Arsenal86309
5Manchester City59070
6Tottenham Hotspur19506
7Newcastle United10626
8West Ham United7701
9AFC Bournemouth4915
10Crystal Palace4627

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.