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Divock Origi celebrates his winning goal for Liverpool.

Matchweek 37: Twists and turns

Matchweek 37: Twists and turns

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 take title race to the last day.

Rich: The Premier League title will be decided on the final day after Liverpool got a late winner at Newcastle. In a match with plenty of twists and turns, Divock Origi headed home the winner in the 86th minute to give the Reds a 3-2 win.

Jack: Spurs wobble against Bournemouth.

Rich: Tottenham had two players sent off as they lost 1-0 to an injury-time goal at Bournemouth. Son Heung-Min was dismissed for a push on a Bournemouth defender at the end of the first half. At the beginning of the second half, Juan Foyth, was given his marching orders for a bad tackle on another defender. It looked like Spurs would hang on but ex-Chelsea player, Nathan Ake got the winner.

Jack: Chelsea clinch Champions League spot.

Rich: Chelsea’s 3-0 win against Watford means they will be playing in the Champions League next season. Second half goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, David Luiz and a lovely chip from Gonzalo Higuain gave the Blues all three points.

Jack: So, we have to wait and see who will win the Premier League but the top four looks like it’s decided.

Rich: Yes, Chelsea will join Liverpool and Manchester City in the Champions League and they will be joined by Tottenham unless there are some crazy results on the final day.

Jack: A bit of a disappointing finish to the season for Arsenal and Manchester United who will probably finish fifth and sixth.

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: twists and turns, to be sent off, to be dismissed, to be given your marching orders, to hang on and a chip.

Jack: Let’s start with the phrase twists and turns. This phrase is often used to describe a film or movie when there are lots of surprising changes in the plot or story.

Rich: It’s used in football in the same way. There were lots of twists and turns in the Newcastle-Liverpool match. Liverpool scored, Newcastle equalised, Liverpool went back in front, Newcastle equalised and then Liverpool got the winner.

Jack: The Premier League title race has also been full of twists and turns. The lead has changed more than ten times. I wonder if there will be a final twist in the tail? 

Rich: A twist in the tail. Another new phrase. We will let you Google that one.

Jack: The next few phrases; to be sent off, to be dismissed and to be given your marching orders all mean the same thing in football: to be given a red card.

Rich: To send somebody off is a phrasal verb and like the other two phrases we usually see it used in a passive structure which is the verb to be plus the verb in the third form.

Jack: This is because the subject of the sentence ‘the player’ is not the person who does the action - showing the red card. The referee does this.

Rich: So, we often read or say, ‘he was sent off’. The full sentence is ‘he was sent off by the referee’ but this is not necessary because we all know that it’s the referee who shows red cards.

Jack: The other two phrases to be dismissed and to be given your marching orders are used in a similar way. Son Heung-Min was dismissed for a push on a Bournemouth defender at the end of the first half.  

Rich: He was dismissed by the referee.

Jack: And, Juan Foyth, was given his marching orders for a bad tackle.

Rich: He was given his marching orders by the referee.

Jack: The next phrase is another phrasal verb. It is to hang on. This is a common phrasal verb; its most common meaning is to wait like when we say ‘Can you hang on for a minute?’

Rich: In football, it’s very common and it means to continue winning when things are difficult.  We said in the headlines ‘it looked like Spurs were going to hang on but Bournemouth scored in the last minute’.

Jack: Our final word this week can be a noun or a verb. The word is a chip or to chip. Gonzalo Higuain scored with a lovely chip against Watford.

Rich: A chip is when the ball is on the ground and you lift it into the air so it goes over a goalkeepers head and back down into the net.

Jack: Higuain chipped the ball over the goalkeeper’s head.

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: twists and turns, to be sent off, to be dismissed, to be given your marching orders, to hang on and a chip.

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 big performances in Matchweek 37.

Jack: Ruben Loftus-Cheek was great for Chelsea, Salomon Rondon had a good game for Newcastle and Dioga Jota was in fine form for Wolves.

Rich: But our Player of the Week is West Ham United’s Marko Arnautovic. Two goals for the Austrian striker and West Ham are finishing the season strongly.

Jack: The next award is for Team of the Week. There were great wins for West Ham, Liverpool, Wolves, Palace and Bournemouth.

Rich: But our team of the Week is Chelsea. A fine 3-0 win against Watford and Chelsea’s season could get better with a European semi-final to win this week.

Jack: Finally our Goal of the Week. There were some wonderful goals this weekend. Leander Dendoncker scored a superb volley for Wolves but our Goal of the Week is Gonzalo Higuain’s chip against Watford. A great goal.

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: It’s the last round of the Premier League season and we all know what the big matches are. Let’s do one prediction each.

Rich: OK, I’ll start with Manchester City’s match away at Brighton. Manchester City need to win to have any chance of winning the Premier League title. City would rather be at home on the final day but I don’t think will be too worried about their trip to the south coast of England. Brighton are safe and won’t be relegated so don’t have much to play for. I can’t see them stopping City winning this one. Final score: Brighton 0-2 Manchester City.

Jack: the other important match is Liverpool against Wolves. Liverpool also need to win if they want to win the Premier League. Wolves have had a great season and knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup. But Wolves have little to play for and Liverpool need to win and I think they will. Final score: Liverpool 3-1 Wolves.

Rich: So you think City will win the Premier League on the final day?

Jack: I think so and you think so, too but I imagine you are hoping that something different will happen.

Rich: I do and it could. We’ll have to wait until Sunday!

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 37:

Newcastle 2-3 Liverpool

West Ham 3-0 Southampton

Bournemouth 1-0 Tottenham

Huddersfield 1-1 Manchester United

Chelsea 3-0 Watford

Arsenal 1-1 Brighton

Cardiff City 2-3 Crystal Palace

Wolves 1-0 Fulham

Everton 2-0 Burnley

Manchester City L-L Leicester City

Headlines

Liverpool take title race to the last day

Divock Origi scored the winner for Liverpool.

The Premier League title will be decided on the final day after Liverpool got a late winner at Newcastle. In a match with plenty of twists and turns, Divock Origi headed home the winner in the 86th minute to give the Reds a 3-2 win.

Headlines

Spurs wobble against Bournemouth

Son Heung-Min got a red card against Bournemouth.

Tottenham had two players sent off as they lost 1-0 to an injury-time goal at Bournemouth. Son Heung-Min was dismissed for a push on a Bournemouth defender at the end of the first half. At the beginning of the second half, Juan Foyth, was given his marching orders for a bad tackle on another defender. It looked like Spurs would hang on but ex-Chelsea player, Nathan Ake got the winner.

Headlines

Chelsea clinch Champions League spot

Gonzalo Higuain chips the goalkeeper against Watford.

Chelsea’s 3-0 win against Watford means they will be playing in the Champions League next season. Second half goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, David Luiz and a lovely chip from Gonzalo Higuain gave the Blues all three points.

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 Premier League title race has also been full of twists and turns. The lead has changed more than ten times.

Two Tottenham players were sent off. They were given a red card by the referee.

Son Heung-Min was dismissed for a push on a Bournemouth defender at the end of the first half.

Juan Foyth was given his marching orders for a bad tackle in the second half.

It looked like Spurs were going to hang on but Bournemouth scored in the last minute.

Gonzalo Higuain scored with a lovely chip against Watford. Higuain chipped the ball over the goalkeepers head.

Cardiff CIty will play in the Championship next season after they were relegated in Matchweek 37.

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?

Player of the Week: Marko Arnautovic (West Ham)

Team of the Week: Chelsea

Goal of the Week: Gonzalo Higuain (Chelsea)

Marko Arnautovic scored twice for West Ham in Matchweek 37.

The Big Match

Brighton v Manchester City & Liverpool v Wolves

It's the final round of the Premier League season this weekend and we still don't know who will win the Premier League title. Rich wants Liverpool to win it bt thinks City will and Jack also thinks the trophy is going to Manchester. 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 Predictions: Final Day

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

Will Manchester City get their hands on the Premier League trophy again on Sunday?

Four Questions

What do you think?

Jack and Rich have spoken about Matchweek 37 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 West Ham's Marko Arnautovic as Player of the Week. Do you agree? 
  2. Jack and Rich selected Chelsea as their Team of the Week. Do you agree?
  3. Rich picked Gonzalo Higuain's chip for Chelsea as Goal of the Week? Did you see it? Do you agree?
  4. Use this week's vocabulary: Do you think Manchester City will hang on and win the Premier League? What's the most number of players you've ever seen dismissed in one match?

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
11/02/2022
TR
5551
points

What do you think
What's the most number of players you've ever seen dismissed in one match?
I remember that four players dismissed from the pitch ans plus one player in the bench-:)
Phrases
• In case car wobbles, it'd be better to go mechanic.
• The naughty boy was given marching order to the his room.
• I'm confused.There were many twists and turns in the film. I couldn't understand who was planner. Relations were a bit complicated.
Joke
• Not only referee shows red card. What about red card which is shown by your wife when you "dismissed" from "Landlord" title-:)
• Here, in informal conversations between buddies they say ; "Walk! Let's see your nape shave" to give marching order-:)


hsn's picture
hsn
11/02/2022 16:47
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5551

What do you think
What's the most number of players you've ever seen dismissed in one match?
I remember that four players dismissed from the pitch ans plus one player in the bench-:)
Phrases
• In case car wobbles, it'd be better to go mechanic.
• The naughty boy was given marching order to the his room.
• I'm confused.There were many twists and turns in the film. I couldn't understand who was planner. Relations were a bit complicated.
Joke
• Not only referee shows red card. What about red card which is shown by your wife when you "dismissed" from "Landlord" title-:)
• Here, in informal conversations between buddies they say ; "Walk! Let's see your nape shave" to give marching order-:)

Islem's picture
Islem
11/05/2019
DZ
27
points

Well ideally Manchester City will hang on and eventually will put their hands on the Premier League title. However, everything could happen in the football universe Man City could loose or draw against Brighton. I think Manchester City are not in their best form lately,they scraped past Leister city with Company's 70th minute only goal. I still believe that Liverpool could win the title if Brighton plays well.


Islem's picture
Islem
11/05/2019 11:56
Algeria
Arsenal
27

Well ideally Manchester City will hang on and eventually will put their hands on the Premier League title. However, everything could happen in the football universe Man City could loose or draw against Brighton. I think Manchester City are not in their best form lately,they scraped past Leister city with Company's 70th minute only goal. I still believe that Liverpool could win the title if Brighton plays well.

elghoul's picture
elghoul
10/05/2019
DZ
3988
points

Marko Arnautovic player of the week's award is not his first one if I am not wrongly remembering but I reckon that I have not ever noticed his skills.

Chelsea are stronger in this season's tail and they totally deserve this week team award.

I prefer the long range strike from Kompany to the Higuain'chip.

City will win again this season, the opposite would made Guardiola mad. I have not seen any of them but there have been matches which finished before the time because more than five or six players had been sent off. Referees knows that rule.


elghoul's picture
elghoul
10/05/2019 17:24
Algeria
Manchester City
3988

Marko Arnautovic player of the week's award is not his first one if I am not wrongly remembering but I reckon that I have not ever noticed his skills.

Chelsea are stronger in this season's tail and they totally deserve this week team award.

I prefer the long range strike from Kompany to the Higuain'chip.

City will win again this season, the opposite would made Guardiola mad. I have not seen any of them but there have been matches which finished before the time because more than five or six players had been sent off. Referees knows that rule.

Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
09/05/2019
BR
615
points

I was going to agree with all your choices this week until Vincent Kompany's cracker against Leicester. I think he deserves both Player and Goal of the Week.

I think Manchester City will hang on and win the Premier League this season.

I remember the match Nautico 0 vs 1 Gremio. It was the last round of the 2nd division Brazilian championship and both playing for a promotion to the 1st division. Playing away, after having 4 players dismissed, Gremio scored a late winner immediately after Nautico lost a penalty.


Rafael Robson's picture
Rafael Robson
09/05/2019 17:56
Brazil
Tottenham Hotspur
615

I was going to agree with all your choices this week until Vincent Kompany's cracker against Leicester. I think he deserves both Player and Goal of the Week.

I think Manchester City will hang on and win the Premier League this season.

I remember the match Nautico 0 vs 1 Gremio. It was the last round of the 2nd division Brazilian championship and both playing for a promotion to the 1st division. Playing away, after having 4 players dismissed, Gremio scored a late winner immediately after Nautico lost a penalty.

Camelia Nguyen
09/05/2019
VN
822
points

City will get the trophy, I'm sure


Camelia Nguyen
09/05/2019 09:48
Vietnam
Manchester City
822

City will get the trophy, I'm sure

Khaldoun83's picture
Khaldoun83
07/05/2019
DZ
325
points

This week phrases are very usefull especialy those in passive voice.

I agree with your choices but I think it is better to consider Vicent Kompany as the goal of the week. 


Khaldoun83's picture
Khaldoun83
07/05/2019 15:32
Algeria
Liverpool
325

This week phrases are very usefull especialy those in passive voice.

I agree with your choices but I think it is better to consider Vicent Kompany as the goal of the week. 

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Goals

Improve your football English.

Practise your listening skills.

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