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Manchester City players celebrate in the Manchester Derby.

This Week: Derby Days

This Week: Derby Days

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, Laura 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.

This Week: Derby Days

Laura: Hello my name’s Laura 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: My name’s Rich. If you want to listen and read at the same time we have a transcript of this podcast on the Premier Skills English website.

Laura: This week we focus on three huge derbies that took place in the Women’s Super League over the weekend.

Jack: We’re going to look at three headlines from this weekend’s action and after each, we’ll look at a couple of useful phrases. 

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

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

Rich: The words and phrases we are looking at this week are: to share the spoils, out of the blocks, local bragging rights, off the crossbar, a slice of luck and a fluke goal.

Laura: Later on we’ll also have a language challenge for you to have a go at so you need to be ready for that.

Headline 1

Jack: United hit back to draw derby.

Rich: Manchester United and Manchester City had to share the spoils in this weekend’s Manchester Derby. City came out of the blocks the fastest as they raced into a 2-0 lead in the first half. The second half was a different story with United scoring twice; first through two-time World Cup winner Tobin Heath and then through substitute Kirsty Hanson. United stay two points clear at the top of the table.

Laura: All of our headlines this week are about derby matches so let’s just think about that word ‘derby’.

Jack: A derby is a match played between two teams from the same city or region. Here we’re talking about the Manchester Derby but we’re also going to talk about the Birmingham Derby and a London derby.

Rich: It’s not 100% certain but most people think the word derby comes from horse racing. The Derby was an important horse race and from there the word started to be used in other sports for important races or matches.

Laura: And the match against your local rivals is always one of the most important matches of the season. The phrase local derby is often used, too.

Jack: The first phrase we want to look at is to share the spoils. We said that Manchester United and Manchester City had to share the spoils in this weekend’s Manchester Derby.

Rich: The spoils are the profits you get from being successful or what you win from war - the spoils of war. In a football match, the spoils are the match points.

Laura: United and City had to share the points that are available for winning; they had to share the spoils.

Jack: Our next phrase is out of the blocks. We said City came out of the blocks the fastest.

Rich: This phrase comes from athletics. The blocks are the starting blocks where sprinters like Usain Bolt start the race from.

Jack: If we say someone is fast out of the blocks it means they have started a competition or a race really well. We might also say a player or a team raced out of the blocks or stormed out of the blocks.

Laura: We could also say someone is slow out of the blocks if they have started badly.

Rich: Let’s move on to our next headline.

Headline 2

Laura: Birmingham win second city derby.

Jack: Birmingham City won local bragging rights as they beat Aston Villa one-nil to win the first-ever Super League meeting between Birmingham’s two major football clubs. Claudia Walker got the only goal of the game when she scored off the crossbar in the second half.

Rich: Let’s look at Laura’s headline first - Birmingham win second city derby.

Jack: Birmingham is often referred to as the UK’s or at least England’s second city.

Laura: I always thought it was Manchester. 

Rich: I think there is a bit of debate about it. I think Birmingham is bigger than Manchester but Manchester attracts a lot of international business and is well-known around the world - probably because of the football.

Jack: I’m not sure how important it is though - they are both great cities.

Laura: The first phrase we want to talk about is local bragging rights. We said that Birmingham City won local bragging rights.

Rich: We’ve already spoken about local and local derby matches. The word local means near or geographically close.

Jack: To brag about something means to boast or to talk too proudly about something. If you brag you are saying how good you are - repeatedly - or how fantastic something is that has happened. 

Laura: Yes, it’s quite negative to brag and it can annoy other people but after a derby match this is what fans do on a Monday morning at school and work.

Rich: Because they have won they have the right to brag. They have won local bragging rights - at least until the next derby match.

Jack: Our second bit of language is off the crossbar. We said Claudia Walker scored off the crossbar.

Laura: This means the ball hit the crossbar and went into the net. 

Rich: We can say someone scored off the crossbar or off the post or the ball went in off the bar or the post or even the ball went in off the back of the goalkeeper’s head.

Jack: That last one would be such a fluke. Let’s look at our final headline.

Headline 3

Rich: Luck favours Chelsea in London Derby.

Laura: Arsenal looked to be heading back to the top of the Super League when Beth Mead scored the opening goal of the game in the 86th minute. However, Chelsea scored an injury-time equaliser when they got a huge slice of luck through a fluke own goal. Pernille Harder hit a shot for Chelsea which took a huge deflection and sailed into the Arsenal net. Arsenal stay second and Chelsea are third in the table.

Jack: Unlucky for Arsenal - Chelsea were lucky. An own goal in the last minute is very unfortunate.

Rich: The first phrase from our headline is something we hear when a team are lucky. Chelsea got a huge slice of luck.

Laura: A slice of luck is something that happens by chance and helps you win or achieve something. Chelsea got a huge slice of luck when the ball hit an Arsenal defender.

Jack: We can also use the phrases a stroke of luck or a piece of luck in the same way.

Rich: Our second bit of language is a fluke goal or in our case a fluke own goal.

Laura: A fluke is something that happens by chance and is unlikely to happen again. Chelsea scored a fluke own goal. 

Jack: If Pernille Harder hit that shot, in the same way, a hundred times it’s very unlikely to result in a goal again.

Rich: We often talk about fluke results. Things like Aston Villa beating Liverpool 7-2 this season or Leicester winning the Premier League a few years ago.

Laura: OK. We’ve looked at three stories and six bits of vocabulary in our headlines. The words and phrases we’ve looked at are: to share the spoils, out of the blocks, local bragging rights, off the crossbar, a slice of luck and a fluke goal.

Jack: Don’t forget to look at the website for the transcript if you want to check your understanding of this vocabulary.

Prediction

Rich: It’s time for this week’s Premier League prediction. There were no Premier League matches last weekend so here is a reminder of our prediction for Matchweek 9 with Laura.

Laura: There are some big games in Matchweek 9. Tottenham against Manchester City is a big match but I’m going to concentrate on Leicester City’s trip to Liverpool. Leicester travel to Liverpool as the Premier League leaders and they’ve already won at Arsenal and Manchester City. The Foxes will look to defend and counter-attack at pace. This will be a difficult match for Liverpool after the international break but I think it’ll finish in a draw. Final score: Liverpool 1-1 Leicester City.

Jack: I think Liverpool will have too much for Leicester but I’ve been known to be wrong before.

Rich: We want all of you to make your predictions for this match and all the Matchweek 9 fixtures on the Premier Skills English website.

Language Challenge

Laura: To finish up the show we’ve got a quick language challenge connected to this week’s vocabulary.

Rich: Earlier we looked at the phase a slice of luck. Here are three more phrases which use the word luck. 

Jack: We want you to write the missing word in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Laura: He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! ****** luck I suppose!

Rich: ****** luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.

Jack: ****** luck! Everyone loses sometimes. Get over it!

Laura: We want you to write the answers on the Premier Skills English website where we have some more questions and activities connected to this week’s show.

Rich: Or write your answer on Apple Podcasts if that’s where you listen to us. Just write the answers in the review section and say hi.

Jack: Before we finish we just wanted to say that we hope you found this lesson useful and we hope that all of you stay fit and healthy.

Laura: Bye for now and enjoy your football.

Headlines

United hit back to draw derby

Manchester United came back from two down to draw with Manchester City.

Manchester United and Manchester City had to share the spoils in this weekend’s Manchester Derby. City came out of the blocks the fastest as they raced into a 2-0 lead in the first half. The second half was a different story with United scoring twice; first through two-time World Cup winner Tobin Heath and then through substitute Kirsty Hanson. United stay two points clear at the top of the table.

Headlines

Birmingham win second city derby

Birmingham City beat Aston Villa 1-0 to win their local derby.

Birmingham City won local bragging rights as they beat Aston Villa one-nil to win the first-ever Super League meeting between Birmingham’s two major football clubs. Claudia Walker got the only goal of the game when she scored off the crossbar in the second half.

Headlines

Luck favours Chelsea in London derby

Chelsea got lucky against Arsenal at the weekend.

Arsenal looked to be heading back to the top of Super League when Beth Mead scored the opening goal of the game in the 86th minute. However, Chelsea scored an injury-time equaliser when they got a huge slice of luck through a fluke own goal. Pernille Harder hit a shot for Chelsea which took a huge deflection and sailed into the Arsenal net. Arsenal stay second and Chelsea are third in the table.

Vocabulary Alert

Language in the headlines

Tottenham's Rianna Dean was red carded for this challenge on Bristol's goalkeeper.

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

Manchester United and Manchester City had to share the spoils in this weekend’s Manchester Derby.

City came out of the blocks the fastest as they raced into a 2-0 lead in the first half.

Birmingham City won local bragging rights as they beat Aston Villa one-nil.

Claudia Walker got the only goal of the game when she scored off the crossbar in the second half.

Chelsea scored an injury-time equaliser when they got a huge slice of luck through a fluke own goal.

Prediction

Premier League Predictions: Liverpool v Leicester City

Jamie Vardy scores the penalty that put Leicester on top of the Premier League.

Liverpool host Leicester City in Matchweek 9 and Laura has made this week's prediction. Here are the other Premier League fixtures for Matchweek 9:

Fixtures

Newcastle v Chelsea

Aston Villa v Brighton

Burnley v Crystal Palace

Fulham v Everton

Liverpool v Leicester

Manchester United v West Brom

Wolves v Southampton

Sheffield United v West Ham

Tottenham v Manchester City

Leeds v Arsenal

Talk about the matches and make your predictions in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Language Challenge

It's unlucky for a goalkeeper to concede an own goal.

Jack, Laura and Rich set you a language challenge. They said that Chelsea got a huge slice of luck in their match at the weekend. Here are three more football sentences which include phrases with luck. Can you guess the missing words?

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! ****** luck I suppose!

****** luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.

Everyone loses sometimes. ****** luck!  Get over it!

Write the correct answer in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Discuss

Talk about the headlines

Manchester City celebrate scoring against their local rivals.

Jack, Laura and Rich looked at three stories in the news and some vocabulary that might be new to you. Now it's your turn! Have a look at the questions and write your answers in the comments section below.

  1. Who won local bragging rights in the derby matches played last weekend?
  2. Which team got a huge slice of luck last weekend?
  3. Who's shot went in off the crossbar at the weekend?
  4. Talk about this week's Premier League matches and make your predictions.
  5. Can you do our language challenge?

Write your comments and answers in the section below.

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Comments

Yigitcan's picture
Yigitcan
26/12/2020
AZ
48
points

-Birmingham won local bragging rights in the derby matches played last week.
Chelsea got a huge slice of luck


Yigitcan's picture
Yigitcan
26/12/2020 15:54
Azerbaijan
Leicester City
48

-Birmingham won local bragging rights in the derby matches played last week.
Chelsea got a huge slice of luck

Richard
24/11/2020
0
points

Hi everyone, 

The answers to this language challenge were:

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! Beginner's luck I suppose!

Good luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.

Tough luck! Everyone loses sometimes. Get over it!

Now have a go at this week's language challenge!

Rich - The Premier Skills English Team


Richard
24/11/2020 08:16


0

Hi everyone, 

The answers to this language challenge were:

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! Beginner's luck I suppose!

Good luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.

Tough luck! Everyone loses sometimes. Get over it!

Now have a go at this week's language challenge!

Rich - The Premier Skills English Team

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
24/11/2020
UA
6578
points

Everyone loses sometimes. Bad luck.  Get over it!


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
24/11/2020 05:55
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Everyone loses sometimes. Bad luck.  Get over it!

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
24/11/2020
UA
6578
points

Good luck with the exam tomorrow! I hope you do well.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
24/11/2020 05:54
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Good luck with the exam tomorrow! I hope you do well.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
24/11/2020
UA
6578
points

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! Pure luck I suppose!


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
24/11/2020 05:53
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! Pure luck I suppose!

jacek
21/11/2020
PL
263
points

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! ****** luck I suppose!

****** luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.

Everyone loses sometimes. Bad luck! Get over it!


jacek
21/11/2020 08:22
Poland
Southampton
263

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! ****** luck I suppose!

****** luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.

Everyone loses sometimes. Bad luck! Get over it!

erickpgd
20/11/2020
MX
21
points

Matchweek 9 Predictions :
Newcastle 0-2 Chelsea
Aston Villa 2-2 Brighton
Burnley 1-2 Crystal Palace
Fulham 0-1 Everton
Liverpool 1-2 Leicester
Manchester United 3-1 West Brom
Wolves 3-2 Southampton
Sheffield United 1-1 West Ham
Tottenham 2-2 Manchester City
Leeds 0-5 Arsenal


erickpgd
20/11/2020 03:43
Mexico
Manchester City
21

Matchweek 9 Predictions :
Newcastle 0-2 Chelsea
Aston Villa 2-2 Brighton
Burnley 1-2 Crystal Palace
Fulham 0-1 Everton
Liverpool 1-2 Leicester
Manchester United 3-1 West Brom
Wolves 3-2 Southampton
Sheffield United 1-1 West Ham
Tottenham 2-2 Manchester City
Leeds 0-5 Arsenal

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
19/11/2020
TR
6539
points

Language Challenge :
He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! ****** luck I suppose!

****** luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.

Everyone loses sometimes. ( Hard ) luck! Get over it!


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
19/11/2020 09:04
Turkey
Manchester United
6539

Language Challenge :
He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! ****** luck I suppose!

****** luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.

Everyone loses sometimes. ( Hard ) luck! Get over it!

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
19/11/2020
TR
6539
points

Matchweek 9 Predictions :

Newcastle 2-4 Chelsea
Aston Villa 2-1 Brighton
Burnley 2-2 Crystal Palace
Fulham 0-3 Everton
Liverpool 1-3 Leicester
Manchester United 3-1 West Brom
Wolves 2-2 Southampton
Sheffield United 1-1 West Ham
Tottenham 2-2 Manchester City
Leeds 1-4 Arsenal


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
19/11/2020 09:02
Turkey
Manchester United
6539

Matchweek 9 Predictions :

Newcastle 2-4 Chelsea
Aston Villa 2-1 Brighton
Burnley 2-2 Crystal Palace
Fulham 0-3 Everton
Liverpool 1-3 Leicester
Manchester United 3-1 West Brom
Wolves 2-2 Southampton
Sheffield United 1-1 West Ham
Tottenham 2-2 Manchester City
Leeds 1-4 Arsenal

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
19/11/2020
TR
6539
points

1- Birmingham City won local bragging rights against their local rivals last weekend.
2- Chelsea got a huge slice of luck goal against Arsenal when they drew in the last minute of that big match.
3- Claudia Walker shot went in off the crossbar with a stunning shot.
I think goals which go in off the crossbar are usually spectacular.


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
19/11/2020 09:01
Turkey
Manchester United
6539

1- Birmingham City won local bragging rights against their local rivals last weekend.
2- Chelsea got a huge slice of luck goal against Arsenal when they drew in the last minute of that big match.
3- Claudia Walker shot went in off the crossbar with a stunning shot.
I think goals which go in off the crossbar are usually spectacular.

Robert Tavares's picture
Robert Tavares
18/11/2020
BR
399
points

Hi again!
My answers for the language challenge are:

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! ****** luck I suppose!

****** luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.

Everyone loses sometimes. No such luck! Get over it!


Robert Tavares's picture
Robert Tavares
18/11/2020 22:08
Brazil
Leeds United
399

Hi again!
My answers for the language challenge are:

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! ****** luck I suppose!

****** luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.

Everyone loses sometimes. No such luck! Get over it!

Robert Tavares's picture
Robert Tavares
18/11/2020
BR
399
points

Hi folks!
I think that the answers about the discussion about the headlines should be:

1- Birmingham City won local bragging rights.
2- Chelsea got a huge slice of luck goal against Arsenal.
3- Claudia Walker shot went in off the crossbar.


Robert Tavares's picture
Robert Tavares
18/11/2020 21:58
Brazil
Leeds United
399

Hi folks!
I think that the answers about the discussion about the headlines should be:

1- Birmingham City won local bragging rights.
2- Chelsea got a huge slice of luck goal against Arsenal.
3- Claudia Walker shot went in off the crossbar.

Robert Tavares's picture
Robert Tavares
18/11/2020
BR
399
points

Hi everyone!
I'm so excited to the next round of Premier League. There will be interesting battles like Liverpool v Leicester and Spurs V Citizens. But Foxes v Saints promise a lot too.

So, my predictions for the Matchweek 9 are:
Newcastle 1v3 Chelsea
Aston Villa 2v1 Brighton
Burnley 1v0 Crystal Palace
Fulham 1v3 Everton
Liverpool 2v2 Leicester
Manchester United 2v1 West Brom
Wolves 2v2 Southampton
Sheffield United 1v2 West Ham
Tottenham 1v2 Manchester City
Leeds 2v1 Arsenal


Robert Tavares's picture
Robert Tavares
18/11/2020 21:48
Brazil
Leeds United
399

Hi everyone!
I'm so excited to the next round of Premier League. There will be interesting battles like Liverpool v Leicester and Spurs V Citizens. But Foxes v Saints promise a lot too.

So, my predictions for the Matchweek 9 are:
Newcastle 1v3 Chelsea
Aston Villa 2v1 Brighton
Burnley 1v0 Crystal Palace
Fulham 1v3 Everton
Liverpool 2v2 Leicester
Manchester United 2v1 West Brom
Wolves 2v2 Southampton
Sheffield United 1v2 West Ham
Tottenham 1v2 Manchester City
Leeds 2v1 Arsenal

hsn's picture
hsn
17/11/2020
TR
5560
points

1-Birmingham City F.C.
2-Chelsea
3-Claudia Walker
4- Earlier lesson I've written my comments and prediction-:)

5-Language challenge
He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! IN luck I suppose!
****** luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.
Everyone loses sometimes. BAD luck! Get over it!

P.S.
• In Turkey, sport journalists use this originally imported word DERBY with the meaning of "Important" even for matches between teams of different cities.

• As I’ve learned from this lesson, in every country, especially on monday at the office chats, fans of the winner team have been bragging to annoy colleagues-:)


hsn's picture
hsn
17/11/2020 17:07
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5560

1-Birmingham City F.C.
2-Chelsea
3-Claudia Walker
4- Earlier lesson I've written my comments and prediction-:)

5-Language challenge
He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! IN luck I suppose!
****** luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.
Everyone loses sometimes. BAD luck! Get over it!

P.S.
• In Turkey, sport journalists use this originally imported word DERBY with the meaning of "Important" even for matches between teams of different cities.

• As I’ve learned from this lesson, in every country, especially on monday at the office chats, fans of the winner team have been bragging to annoy colleagues-:)

elghoul's picture
elghoul
17/11/2020
DZ
3988
points

1. Birmingham City won the local bragging rights in the Birmingham derby.

2. Chelsea got a huge slice of luck with their injury time equalizer.

3. Claudia Walker's shot went in off the crossbar.

4. Predictions :

Leicester 3 Liverpool 1

City 1 Tottenham 1


elghoul's picture
elghoul
17/11/2020 14:39
Algeria
Manchester City
3988

1. Birmingham City won the local bragging rights in the Birmingham derby.

2. Chelsea got a huge slice of luck with their injury time equalizer.

3. Claudia Walker's shot went in off the crossbar.

4. Predictions :

Leicester 3 Liverpool 1

City 1 Tottenham 1

elghoul's picture
elghoul
17/11/2020
DZ
3988
points

Hi,

Here is my vocabulary challenge.

 

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one. ********'* luck I suppose!

**** luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.

Everyone loses sometimes. Try luck!  Get over it!

 

Be fit and healthy.


elghoul's picture
elghoul
17/11/2020 14:31
Algeria
Manchester City
3988

Hi,

Here is my vocabulary challenge.

 

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one. ********'* luck I suppose!

**** luck with the exam tomorrow. I hope you do well.

Everyone loses sometimes. Try luck!  Get over it!

 

Be fit and healthy.

admin's picture
admin
17/11/2020
GB
560
points

Hi Elghoul

Two out of three isn't bad!

Try again with the last one?

Jack - The Premier Skills English team


admin's picture
admin
17/11/2020 16:40
United Kingdom
Arsenal
560

Hi Elghoul

Two out of three isn't bad!

Try again with the last one?

Jack - The Premier Skills English team

Yoshichika's picture
Yoshichika
17/11/2020
JP
76
points

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! ****** luck I suppose!

Everyone loses sometimes. Good luck! Get over it!


Yoshichika's picture
Yoshichika
17/11/2020 05:57
Japan
Liverpool
76

He’s never played golf before and he got a hole in one! ****** luck I suppose!

Everyone loses sometimes. Good luck! Get over it!

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1Alex_from_Ukraine6578
2mobeckham6539
3hsn5560
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4779
6Liubomyr4417
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia74679
2Ukraine33892
3Spain29525
4Serbia27426
5Brazil23661
6Albania20578
7Vietnam20460
8Turkey20111
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United147000
2Liverpool111527
3Chelsea90265
4Arsenal86299
5Manchester City58968
6Tottenham Hotspur19506
7Newcastle United10626
8West Ham United7701
9AFC Bournemouth4915
10Crystal Palace4568

Level

3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Goals

Improve your vocabulary.

Practise your listening skills.

Complete our language challenge and make a Premier League prediction.