This Week: Bang on

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 talks about three stories from this week in the Premier League and there are lots of football English words and phrases for you to learn.

If the listening was difficult, you can listen and read the transcript at the same time.

Read the transcript and listen at the same time.

Hello, my name’s Jack and welcome to the weekly round-up called This Week on Premier Skills English.

In This Week, we’ve got lots of interesting words and phrases to help you talk about football in English.

If you are listening to this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify you can also visit the Premier Skills English website at premierskillsenglish.britishcouncil.org where you’ll be able to download the podcast.

On the Premier Skills English website, you can read the transcript and join the Premier Skills English community by completing a language task in the comments section. This will really help you remember the new words and phrases from the stories from the Premier League.

This week, I’m talking about Liverpool’s trip to Brentford, Arsenal’s visit to Burnley and Chelsea who took on the champions in Manchester.

The words and phrases I am going to talk about today are:

To do something justice
To keep your composure / keep your cool
Fuss
To distinguish yourself
Ruthlessness
Bang on
To count
A slice of luck
Former

Listen out for this vocabulary in the stories from the Premier League.

After each story, there will be a language focus and then there will be a language challenge for you and then at the end of the podcast there will be a new football phrase.

But before I get to the first story, I want to look at last week’s football phrase. If you didn’t hear it last week, here’s one more chance to guess now.

Last week’s football phrase was the ********** ****. This is the bottom three places in the league. If a team finishes the season in this place, they will face ********** and be demoted to the Championship, the second tier of English football.

Congratulations to Alex from Ukraine, Wojciech M from Poland, Sisman74 from Turkey, AndreTorre102 from Brazil, Vietnguyenngo from Vietnam, Lukáš from Chechia, Hasan from Turkey, MoBeckham from Turkey, Djanjo90 from Colombia, Ken from Japan, Isshin from Japan, and Denis2000 from Belarus.

You all worked out that the phrase I was looking for was the relegation zone.

Keep listening till the end of the podcast for a new football phrase.

Now it’s time for this week’s first story.

Liverpool maintains lead in London

Liverpool met Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday and delighted their fans with a dominant display as they easily beat their opponents.

For the first 30 minutes, Brentford looked like they could cause the Reds some problems and Ivan Toney came close on a couple of occasions. Unfortunately for the Bees, their star striker was not able to get much power behind his shots, and seemed to be focused more on accuracy. Caoimhín Kelleher in the Liverpool goal had no problems blocking Toney’s early attempts.

Darwin Nunez opened the scoring with a magnificent shot that he scooped over the keeper. The move started from a lightning break. Diogo Jota headed the ball into Nunez’s path. The Uruguayan striker was charging into the box. Flekken in goal for Brentford tried to come out to meet him, but Nunez managed to scoop the ball perfectly over the keeper and into the net.

Liverpool scored again in the second half, mostly thanks to an incredible Mohamad Salah cross. It didn’t look like it should have been possible, but Sala managed to slot the ball between Brentford defenders through to Mac Alister who did the ball justice and poked it across the line.

Not long after, Salah got his own name on the scoresheet with a goal that started with a long ball from the Liverpool keeper. Brentford was playing with a high press against a team with some very fast players. So when the long ball sailed over the midfield, Gakpo only had to flick it forward for Salah who sprinted down the pitch. When he got to the area, he fought off a defender and kept his composure before turning the ball past Flekken and into the net.

Despite the deficit, Brentford deserves credit for never giving up. In the 75th minute, Toney got a goal back when Kelleher blocked Regiulon’s shot. The ball rebounded for Toney who kept his cool and blasted the ball past the Liverpool keeper.

Cody Gakpo sealed the deal for the visitors with a fourth goal in the 86th minute. Collins missed a clearance and Diaz pounced on the ball. He pivoted and fired the ball through to Gakpo who lifted the ball past Flekken, with the minimum of fuss.

Final score: Brentford 1 - 4 Liverpool

The words and phrases from the story that I want to talk about are:

To do something justice
To keep your composure / keep your cool
Fuss

To do something justice

This is an idiom. In this idiom, justice means fairness or what is right. So if you do something justice, you do what is right for that thing, you treat the thing with respect and in a way that shows you understand the value or how important the thing is.

Most of the time, when we use this idiom, we use it in a negative way. So you might read about a really beautiful place, perhaps a view of the mountains and that photographs don’t do justice to the beauty of the landscape. This means that the photographs don’t show how beautiful the landscape is.

Or if you read a review of a restaurant and you think that the review is not fair, you might say that the review doesn’t really do the restaurant justice, if you think that the restaurant is better than the description in the review.

In the story, I described an amazing Salah cross, and I said that Mac Allister did the ball justice when he scored. It was such a good cross that it deserved a good strike. This sounds quite strange now I come to try to explain it. The cross was so good that it deserved to be treated with respect.

To keep your composure / keep your cool

The noun composure describes the feeling of being calm and in control. In football, the action is very exciting and it’s hard for players to stay calm and in control. When players get very excited on the pitch, sometimes they try too hard, they run too fast or kick the ball with too much power and make mistakes that they would not make on the training ground. Sometimes, players get really angry with their opponents or with the referee. So when a player is in a really exciting situation, perhaps they are struggling with a very aggressive opponent or they have a chance to score and they stay calm and in control you might hear commentators saying that they kept their composure or they kept their cool. Salah is a very cool player. When he’s in really exciting situations, he keeps his composure and plays well.

Fuss

This is quite a strange noun. A fuss is when people get more emotional about something than they should. We use the phrase to make a fuss. Sometimes, children get very excited or anxious about small things, perhaps they don’t want to go to school or they don’t want to tidy up their mess and get angry or upset. Their parents might say stop making a fuss. When Gakpo scored Liverpool’s 4th goal, he did it calmly and efficiently. He played a simple chip to lift the ball away from the keeper. He didn’t make any elaborate moves, no twists and turns, no pivots or anything dramatic. He just did what was needed without any fuss.

Now it’s time for the second story.

Arsenal overwhelm Burnley at Turf Moor

Burnley hosted Arsenal in an unsurprisingly one-sided display in which the visitors' stars distinguished themselves through their ruthlessness.

Bang on the 4-minute mark, Odegaard set the tone of the match when he put the Gunners ahead with a powerful strike from the edge of the area.

Saka scored twice. The first came from the spot in the 41st minute after Trossard was taken down in the area. Saka made it three in the 47th minute with a rocket that gave James Trafford in the Burnley goal no chance. Saka had to work the ball into position as there were three Burnley players trying to get between him and the goal, but he quickly found a spot to shoot from and made no mistake.

After missing a golden opportunity, Trossard was desperate to make amends. When Arsenal surged forwards and Kiwior crossed the ball, Kai Havertz got there first but had his shot blocked. The ball fell for Trossard who wasn’t going to miss again and powered it home.

By the 78th minute, Burnley’s spirit was broken and the fifth goal was far too easy. Arsenal had a throw-in and Kai Havertz ran beyond the Burnley defenders as you can’t be offside from a throw-in. Havertz practically skipped down the pitch towards the goal. Delcroix made a clumsy attempt to catch him, but Havertz stepped aside before slotting the ball home.

Final score: Burnley 0 - 5 Arsenal

The words and phrases from the story that I want to talk about are:

Ruthlessness
To distinguish yourself
Bang on

Ruthlessness

This noun means the quality of being ruthless. If you are ruthless, you do not think about the pain you cause others through your actions. You act without caring about how your actions hurt other people; you only think about yourself. A ruthless person will not stop what they are doing even if they know that their acts are hurting people.

I the past, the word ruth meant something like pity, but nobody uses the word in that way anymore, but we do still say ruthless. I think most commonly, the word is used to describe a criminal who robs or steals without thinking about the victims of their crimes.

To distinguish yourself

The verb distinguish means to recognise or treat something as different. For example, in the future, it’s going to be hard to distinguish real video from video created by AI. The idiom to distinguish yourself means to do something that makes you different in a good way. We use it to say that someone showed they were different and that they should be respected for it. One definition described the meaning as doing something well so that people notice and remember you. I said that Arsenal distinguished themselves through their ruthlessness. They played the match in an unusually ruthless way so people would notice and remember how ruthless they were.

Bang on

This is an interesting phrase that expresses precision or accuracy, usually related to time. So if someone arrives bang on time, they arrive exactly on time. Odegaard scored bang on the 4-minute mark, This means he scored exactly 4 minutes into the game. Not a second before or after, bang on 4 minutes.

Now it’s time for the final story.

Chelsea check the Champions in Manchester

Chelsea travelled north to take on Manchester City at the Etihad. This was a match that City dominated in every way except the only way that really counts. City had 70% of the possession, made 31 attempts on goal, compared to Chelsea’s nine, and won 12 corners, compared to Chelsea’s 1. And yet, they very nearly lost the match and only secured a point thanks to a slice of luck.

In the 42nd minute, Raheem Sterling, the former Manchester City man put Chelsea in front on his return to the Etihad. The goal came from a wonderful counterattack. Nicholas Jackson played a clever ball through to Sterling who was running wide when he checked the ball and turned faster than his old teammate Kyle Walker and cut back to strike.

Chelsea looked after their lead for most of the match, largely as a result of Erling Haaland being off his game as the Norwegian missed three decent opportunities.

Chelsea very nearly scored again in the 67th minute, but Ederson managed to get a foot to the ball, and it was somehow scraped away from the goal.

In the 83rd minute, Rodri saved City from their first home defeat of the season when he fired the ball at the goal. Petrović was diving to block the ball, but Rodri’s shot caught a deflection off the thigh of Chalobah and ricocheted into the top of the net.

Final score: Manchester City 1 - 1 Chelsea

The words and phrases from the story that I want to talk about are:

To count
A slice of luck
Former

To count

Normally, the verb to count means to say numbers in order, 1,2,3 ... usually to work out how many things there are. So you might count the people in a room or if you work in a shop, you might have to count the money in the till at the end of the day. However, we also use count to talk about objects, and if a thing counts, then it is important or valid. I think it’s most commonly used in negative sentences when something doesn’t count. For example, if a player scores a goal, but the referee judges them to have been offside, then the goal doesn’t count and will not be added to the score. Sometimes, when you are doing an exam, you get to do a practice task first, and the result doesn’t count towards your grade. I said that Manchester City dominated Chelsea in every way except the only one that really counts. The only thing that determines whether a team wins or loses is the number of goals they score. So you can say that scoring goals is the only thing that really counts.

A slice of luck

This is an expression that we use to describe a lucky event, that is, an event that was positive or that helped someone that was not under their control. You can say a slice of luck or a stroke of luck, both of these just mean that something was lucky. I said that Manchester City only secured a point due to a slice of luck. They equalised after Rodri’s shot took a deflection off Chalobah’s thigh. The shot was very powerful so it might have gone in anyway, but the keeper was diving in the right direction. The deflection was out of Rodri’s control so it was lucky for Manchester City that the ball ricocheted into the top of the net.

Former

The adjective former means that something was true before, that is, in the past. So you might talk about your former boss, meaning your boss in the past. Donald Trump is the former president of the United States. He wants to be the president again, but at the moment he is one of the former presidents. I described Raheem Sterling as the former Manchester City player because he played for Manchester City before; in the past.

Today, I’ve spoken about 9 useful words and phrases.

The words and phrases were:

To do something justice
To keep your composure / keep your cool
Fuss
Ruthlessness
To distinguish yourself
Bang on
To count
A slice of luck
Former

Listen to the stories one more time to hear this language in context.

Liverpool maintains lead in London

Liverpool met Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday and delighted their fans with a dominant display as they easily beat their opponents.

For the first 30 minutes, Brentford looked like they could cause the Reds some problems and Ivan Toney came close on a couple of occasions. Unfortunately for the Bees, their star striker was not able to get much power behind his shots, and seemed to be focused more on accuracy. Caoimhín Kelleher in the Liverpool goal had no problems blocking Toney’s early attempts.

Darwin Nunez opened the scoring with a magnificent shot that he scooped over the keeper. The move started from a lightning break. Diogo Jota headed the ball into Nunez’s path. The Uruguayan striker was charging into the box. Flekken in goal for Brentford tried to come out to meet him, but Nunez managed to scoop the ball perfectly over the keeper and into the net.

Liverpool scored again in the second half, mostly thanks to an incredible Mohamad Salah cross. It didn’t look like it should have been possible, but Sala managed to slot the ball between Brentford defenders through to Mac Alister who did the ball justice and poked it across the line.

Not long after, Salah got his own name on the scoresheet with a goal that started with a long ball from the Liverpool keeper. Brentford was playing with a high press against a team with some very fast players. So when the long ball sailed over the midfield, Gakpo only had to flick it forward for Salah who sprinted down the pitch. When he got to the area, he fought off a defender and kept his composure before turning the ball past Flekken and into the net.

Despite the deficit, Brentford deserves credit for never giving up. In the 75th minute, Toney got a goal back when Kelleher blocked Regiulon’s shot. The ball rebounded for Toney who kept his cool and blasted the ball past the Liverpool keeper.

Cody Gakpo sealed the deal for the visitors with a fourth goal in the 86th minute. Collins missed a clearance and Diaz pounced on the ball. He pivoted and fired the ball through to Gakpo who lifted the ball past Flekken, with the minimum of fuss.

Final score: Brentford 1 - 4 Liverpool

Arsenal overwhelm Burnley at Turf Moor

Burnley hosted Arsenal in an unsurprisingly one-sided display in which the visitors' stars distinguished themselves through their ruthlessness.

Bang on the 4-minute mark, Odegaard set the tone of the match when he put the Gunners ahead with a powerful strike from the edge of the area.

Saka scored twice. The first came from the spot in the 41st minute after Trossard was taken down in the area. Saka made it three in the 47th minute with a rocket that gave James Trafford in the Burnley goal no chance. Saka had to work the ball into position as there were three Burnley players trying to get between him and the goal, but he quickly found a spot to shoot from and made no mistake.

After missing a golden opportunity, Trossard was desperate to make amends. When Arsenal surged forwards and Kiwior crossed the ball, Kai Havertz got there first but had his shot blocked. The ball fell for Trossard who wasn’t going to miss again and powered it home.

By the 78th minute, Burnley’s spirit was broken and the fifth goal was far too easy. Arsenal had a throw-in and Kai Havertz ran beyond the Burnley defenders as you can’t be offside from a throw-in. Havertz practically skipped down the pitch towards the goal. Delcroix made a clumsy attempt to catch him, but Havertz stepped aside before slotting the ball home.

Final score: Burnley 0 - 5 Arsenal

Chelsea check the Champions in Manchester

Chelsea travelled north to take on Manchester City at the Etihad. This was a match that City dominated in every way except the only way that really counts. City had 70% of the possession, made 31 attempts on goal, compared to Chelsea’s nine, and won 12 corners, compared to Chelsea’s 1. And yet, they very nearly lost the match and only secured a point thanks to a slice of luck.

In the 42nd minute, Raheem Sterling, the former Manchester City man put Chelsea in front on his return to the Etihad. The goal came from a wonderful counterattack. Nicholas Jackson played a clever ball through to Sterling who was running wide when he checked the ball and turned faster than his old teammate Kyle Walker and cut back to strike.

Chelsea looked after their lead for most of the match, largely as a result of Erling Haaland being off his game as the Norwegian missed three decent opportunities.

Chelsea very nearly scored again in the 67th minute, but Ederson managed to get a foot to the ball, and it was somehow scraped away from the goal.

In the 83rd minute, Rodri saved City from their first home defeat of the season when he fired the ball at the goal. Petrović was diving to block the ball, but Rodri’s shot caught a deflection off the thigh of Chalobah and ricocheted into the top of the net.

Final score: Manchester City 1 - 1 Chelsea

Language challenge

Right, now it’s time for you to think about this language again. I have found examples of today’s words and phrases in stories online and edited them slightly. I have removed the vocabulary from the story so I want you to fill in the gaps with the correct forms of the language from the podcast.

Number 1. One woman caused a __________ at a stall after she was denied free food, even allegedly accusing the food seller of discrimination.

Number 2. The FTC Robotics teams from Larson Middle School, the Girl Botz, ________________________by winning several high-profile awards this season.

Number 3. You should show respect for the person who invited you for coffee by arriving early or, at worst, __________ time.

Number 4. Donyell Malen was discarded by _________ Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger back in August 2017 but Gunners legend Thierry Henry remains a big fan of the forward

Number 5. Driving in heavy traffic can be stressful, but it's really important to ______________ and stay patient and in control.

Number 6. Sheffield United fan Glyn Sterland, who works at Batty’s Family Butchers in Woodseats, is celebrating a huge _____________ as he scooped a £150,000 lottery jackpot.

Number 7. The film was not very good. It didn't ___ the original comics __________ and it left fans wondering what the point of it even was.

Number 8. A British man has been accused of bigamy after he married a second wife but claimed it didn’t ________ because the ceremony was done in Swahili.

Number 9. Mauricio Pochettino lamented Chelsea’s lack of ____________ in front of goal after a flurry of missed chances contributed to a 2-1 defeat to Wolves.

Leave your answers to this language challenge in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website.

Football phrase

Now it’s time for this week's football phrase.

This week’s football phrase is to *** **** **** ** *** **********. OK. This is quite a long phrase that means you have scored in a match. The phrase comes from the records that the officials keep about what goals are scored in a match. I’m not talking about the referee’s book, which is where the referee records the serious offences, this is a different, happier place that players want to be on.

If you know the answer, be sure to leave it in a comment on the page for this podcast on Premier Skills English.

Before I finish, I am going to go through the answers to last week’s language challenges.

The answers to the first language challenge are:

Number 1. Nine-year-old Stephanie Shen only began fencing a year ago, but the talented athlete is already making a name for herself in this ancient sport. After many hours of practice, Stephanie has learned to feint, lunge and parry like a pro.

Number 2. Asda shopper shows off £54-worth of clothes she nabbed for just £7 in the sale.

Number 3. Texas beekeeper stuns followers by scooping up swarms of bees with her bare hands after the insects formed a queen-less hive under an umbrella

Number 4. West Brom showed that when they're on top and things are going their way they've got good technical qualities. They're a good team, with very good players that are
very well coached.

Number 5. A drinking fountain is now conveniently located on Ross Street near Coronation Park in the downtown area

Number 6. Steve Madeley, Wolves reporter for The Athletic, has highlighted Pedro Neto as a “potent threat on the break” ahead of Brentford’s visit to Molineux on Saturday.

The answers to the second language challenge are:

Number 1. Speaking about scoring his first goals in Celtic colours, the Irishman has signalled that he is ‘delighted’ to have got off the mark for his new club.

Number 2. ‘Goodness gracious’ said the golfer. ‘Just think about the odds of this. Not just your tee shot ricocheting back and hitting you, but hitting you there. And not just hitting you there, but hitting you there with cameras rolling.’

Number 3. In football, motions such as cutting and pivoting can put a great amount of force on the knee.

Number 4. In the high-stakes world of espionage, every move must be calculated and precise.

Number 5. Bruno Fernandes talks up the FA Cup significance as Manchester United keep hopes of silverware alive.

Number 6. Bruno Fernandes explains why he hesitated before signing a new Man Utd contract.

And that’s all I have time for today. Before I finish, I just wanted to say that I hope you found this podcast useful, and I hope everyone stays fit and healthy and safe.

Bye for now and enjoy your football.

The language from the stories that I’m going to talk about this week is:

To do something justice
To keep your composure / keep your cool
Fuss
Ruthlessness
To distinguish yourself
Bang on
To count
A slice of luck
Former

Liverpool maintains lead in London

Alexis Mac Allister scores Liverpool's second goal during the match between Brentford FC and Liverpool FC

Liverpool met Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday and delighted their fans with a dominant display as they easily beat their opponents.

For the first 30 minutes, Brentford looked like they could cause the Reds some problems and Ivan Toney came close on a couple of occasions. Unfortunately for the Bees, their star striker was not able to get much power behind his shots, and seemed to be focused more on accuracy. Caoimhín Kelleher in the Liverpool goal had no problems blocking Toney’s early attempts.

Darwin Nunez opened the scoring with a magnificent shot that he scooped over the keeper. The move started from a lightning break. Diogo Jota headed the ball into Nunez’s path. The Uruguayan striker was charging into the box. Flekken in goal for Brentford tried to come out to meet him, but Nunez managed to scoop the ball perfectly over the keeper and into the net.

Liverpool scored again in the second half, mostly thanks to an incredible Mohamad Salah cross. It didn’t look like it should have been possible, but Sala managed to slot the ball between Brentford defenders through to Mac Alister who did the ball justice and poked it across the line.

Not long after, Salah got his own name on the scoresheet with a goal that started with a long ball from the Liverpool keeper. Brentford was playing with a high press against a team with some very fast players. So when the long ball sailed over the midfield, Gakpo only had to flick it forward for Salah who sprinted down the pitch. When he got to the area, he fought off a defender and kept his composure before turning the ball past Flekken and into the net.

Despite the deficit, Brentford deserves credit for never giving up. In the 75th minute, Toney got a goal back when Kelleher blocked Regiulon’s shot. The ball rebounded for Toney who kept his cool and blasted the ball past the Liverpool keeper.

Cody Gakpo sealed the deal for the visitors with a fourth goal in the 86th minute. Collins missed a clearance and Diaz pounced on the ball. He pivoted and fired the ball through to Gakpo who lifted the ball past Flekken, with the minimum of fuss.

Final score: Brentford 1 - 4 Liverpool

Arsenal overwhelm Burnley at Turf Moor

Bukayo Saka scores Arsenal's third goal during the match between Burnley FC and Arsenal FC

Burnley hosted Arsenal in an unsurprisingly one-sided display in which the visitors' stars distinguished themselves through their ruthlessness.

Bang on the 4-minute mark, Odegaard set the tone of the match when he put the Gunners ahead with a powerful strike from the edge of the area.

Saka scored twice. The first came from the spot in the 41st minute after Trossard was taken down in the area. Saka made it three in the 47th minute with a rocket that gave James Trafford in the Burnley goal no chance. Saka had to work the ball into position as there were three Burnley players trying to get between him and the goal, but he quickly found a spot to shoot from and made no mistake.

After missing a golden opportunity, Trossard was desperate to make amends. When Arsenal surged forwards and Kiwior crossed the ball, Kai Havertz got there first but had his shot blocked. The ball fell for Trossard who wasn’t going to miss again and powered it home.

By the 78th minute, Burnley’s spirit was broken and the fifth goal was far too easy. Arsenal had a throw-in and Kai Havertz ran beyond the Burnley defenders as you can’t be offside from a throw-in. Havertz practically skipped down the pitch towards the goal. Delcroix made a clumsy attempt to catch him, but Havertz stepped aside before slotting the ball home.

Final score: Burnley 0 - 5 Arsenal

Chelsea check the Champions in Manchester

Raheem Sterling runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Rodri during the match between Manchester City and Chelsea FC

Chelsea travelled north to take on Manchester City at the Etihad. This was a match that City dominated in every way except the only way that really counts. City had 70% of the possession, made 31 attempts on goal, compared to Chelsea’s nine, and won 12 corners, compared to Chelsea’s 1. And yet, they very nearly lost the match and only secured a point thanks to a slice of luck.

In the 42nd minute, Raheem Sterling, the former Manchester City man put Chelsea in front on his return to the Etihad. The goal came from a wonderful counterattack. Nicholas Jackson played a clever ball through to Sterling who was running wide when he checked the ball and turned faster than his old teammate Kyle Walker and cut back to strike.

Chelsea looked after their lead for most of the match, largely as a result of Erling Haaland being off his game as the Norwegian missed three decent opportunities.

Chelsea very nearly scored again in the 67th minute, but Ederson managed to get a foot to the ball, and it was somehow scraped away from the goal.

In the 83rd minute, Rodri saved City from their first home defeat of the season when he fired the ball at the goal. Petrović was diving to block the ball, but Rodri’s shot caught a deflection off the thigh of Chalobah and ricocheted into the top of the net.

Final score: Manchester City 1 - 1 Chelsea

Language challenge

Right, now it’s time for you to think about this language again in another language challenge. As with the vocabulary from the first story, I have found examples of the words and phrases in stories online and edited them slightly. I have removed the vocabulary from the story so I want you to fill in the gaps with the correct forms of the language from the podcast.