This Week: Palmer scores a record four

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.

Did you see much football last weekend? What a start to the season!

Liverpool are in the lead having won five of their six matches. But just two points separate the top five teams. Man City are looking strong, but perhaps not quite as unbeatable as they have been. I mean, they haven’t actually been beaten, but they have been held to a draw for their last two matches. Arsenal are looking like Arsenal. They are looking good, but they are making their wins look like hard work. Chelsea are just a point behind Arsenal and look like they might start living up to the promise of their squad and Villa are up there as well. Despite being held to a draw at newly promoted Ipswich Town.

It’s only early days yet, but it’s starting to look like we’re heading for an amazing season.

Today. I’m talking about three matches. The first is Arsenal’s stoppage time win against Leicester. The second is Cole Palmer, I mean Chelsea’s defeat of Brighton and the third is the Newcastle - Manchester City match.

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

• To frustrate
• Magnificent
• Diligent
• To step up
• A masterpiece
• To weave
• A reflex save

Listen out for this vocabulary in this week’s stories.

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

Last week, the football phrase was ****. This refers to how well a player or a team has been performing over a certain period of time. It’s normally used to say how well they are playing and have been playing recently. If a team is in good **** then they are playing well and have been winning their matches.

The fiendish football phrase was ********. This refers to when a team loses possession of the ball, perhaps through a bad pass, interception, or tackle. When a ******** occurs, the other team gains control of the ball and has the opportunity to start their own attack. Some teams are ******** specialists and often score by capitalising on their opponents’ mistakes.

Congratulations to Alex from Ukraine, Lukáš from Czechia, AndreTorre102 from Brazil, Hasan from Turkey, Denis2000 from Belarus and Leofabiano from Brazil.

You all managed to work out that the football phrase was form and the fiendish football phrase was turnover.

And I want to welcome Ahmed Abouzeid. You made a good guess, but it wasn’t the word I was looking for. Lovely to see you here, all the same.

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

Now it’s time for the first story.

Hermanson makes life hard for Arsenal

Leicester made the trip to London on Saturday to take on Arsenal. The Foxes had only won once in their last 30 visits to Arsenal and were looking to improve that record.

Arsenal completely overran the visitors and it looked like they might be able to put the game to bed early on. However, Leicester managed to frustrate the gunners, especially Mads Hermansen in the Leicester goal.

After 20 minutes, Saka tricked the defence, darting into the middle before firing the ball towards Timber, who played a swift cross. Martinelli took a step back, pivoted, and struck well, scoring his first goal of the season.

Trossard doubled Arsenal's lead in stoppage time with a textbook finish, and the scoreline started to reflect Arsenal’s total domination.

But in the second half, Leicester fought their way back into the match. Saliba fouled Vardy just inside Arsenal’s half. Buonanotte took the free kick and sent the ball into the crowded box, where James Justin leapt up and headed it towards the goal. Raya might have saved it, but for a tiny deflection off Kai Havertz’s shoulder that wrong-footed the keeper.

In the 63rd minute, Leicester struck again. This time, Ndidi sent a long ball across the pitch to James Justin, who scored with a magnificent volley, hitting the inside of the upright and sending the away fans wild.

Arsenal were still dominant, but couldn’t find the net; mostly due to the diligent shot stopper in the Leicester goal. Hermansen was having an extraordinary game and made some remarkable saves in the second half.

Four minutes into added time, Arsenal finally broke through. They finally found a way through to goal with their 17th corner kick. Trossard volleyed the ball towards goal, and it was deflected in off Ndidi’s leg.

In the ninth minute of stoppage time, Kai Havertz scored. Declan Rice played the ball forward to Gabriel Jesus, who ran at goal and struck, only for Hermansen to make another save. James Justin tried to clear the loose ball, but it struck Havertz, deflecting into the net.

Final score: Arsenal 4 - 2 Leicester City

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

• To frustrate
• Magnificent
• Diligent

To frustrate
The verb to frustrate means to stop someone from doing something. Arsenal were dominant against Leicester, but they had real problems scoring because Leicester defended well and their keeper kept blocking their shots. I said that Leicester frustrated Arsenal’s efforts. So this means they stopped Arsenal from scoring. However, the verb also means to make someone feel upset or annoyed because you’re stopping them or making something difficult for them. I have spoken about this before, but it’s a good word. It’s a special type of feeling, a really specific sort of angry or rather annoyed. For me, I think the most common feeling of frustration comes from video games. I was playing a very silly game last week and there was a mission and ... well, it was difficult. I kept trying and trying and failing. I got so close and there was, well, an annoying enemy that kept popping up and ... I’m sure you know that feeling. It was highly frustrating.

Magnificent
The adjective magnificent is used to describe something that is very impressive, beautiful, or grand. It’s an extreme adjective so you can say that something is really magnificent or truly magnificent or absolutely magnificent if you’re feeling dramatic. I really like the word as it feels a bit old fashioned, but that just makes whatever you’re using it to describe even grander and more impressive. According to my collocation dictionary, it’s most commonly used to describe buildings like palaces and castles so you can get a sense of its strength when used to describe a goal.

Diligent
The adjective diligent describes a person or group of people who work hard and carefully. A diligent worker will do their job very well and will ensure that they fulfil all of their responsibilities. It is a very respectable adjective. My sister was a very diligent student and did very well at school and university. I’m afraid I was a little more ... wayward. I described Leicester’s goalkeeper as a diligent shot stopper because he worked very hard and stopped lots of shots, making some brilliant saves.

Let’s move on to the second story.

Ice Cold Palmer scores a record four

There was drama right from the start after a disastrous mix-up in Chelsea’s defence. Levi Colwill tried to clear the ball, but fired the ball right at Carlos Baleba. The ball deflected off Baleba and flew straight up into the air. Georginio Rutter soared in with a header, putting Brighton ahead.

This early setback didn’t seem to bother Cole Palmer who looked determined from the start. First, he broke free and struck well, but the ball clipped the post. The second time, he found the net, but was flagged offside. His third opportunity came from a Brighton mistake. Nicholas Jackson sprinted towards the goal, held onto the ball long enough to draw the keeper out, then teed up Palmer, who made no mistake in equalising for the Blues.

Minutes later, Enzo Fernandez and Jadon Sancho linked up well, forcing a foul in the penalty area and winning Chelsea a penalty. Cole Palmer stepped up, cool as ice, and slotted it away, living up to his nickname, "Cold Palmer."

Then came the moment everyone’s been talking about. Madueke got free of Estupiñán and was charging towards goal with just the keeper to beat, but the Ecuadorian pulled him back, earning a yellow card. Chelsea had two players standing over the ball—Gusto and Palmer. Although the ball was some way out, Brighton formed a wall. Palmer locked onto his target and unleashed an incredible free kick that curled into the net, striking the side netting. It was placed so perfectly, into a near-impossible spot, leaving the goalkeeper stranded on the wrong side of the goal. A moment of pure perfection from Palmer—his third in ten minutes. Over the wall, inside the post, a true masterpiece.

With a two goal lead, Chelsea looked like they might start to feel a bit more relaxed, but then Chelsea’s keeper Robert Sánchez made a major mistake, giving the ball away right in front of goal. Baleba pounced, scooped it up, and drove it home.

In the 41st minute, it was Brighton’s turn to slip up. A poor pass from their keeper was pounced on by Enzo Fernandez, who passed to Sancho. Spotting Palmer making a run, Sancho threaded the ball forward. Palmer ran over it and tapped it into the bottom left corner, setting a new record by becoming the first player to score four goals before half-time in a Premier League game.

Final score: Chelsea 4 - 2 Brighton and Hove Albion

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

• To step up
• a masterpiece

To step up
The phrasal verb to step up means to take action when there is an opportunity or really, a need for someone to take action. So in a difficult situation, perhaps there’s an emergency at work and your manager is away, if there’s nobody in charge or nobody taking responsibility, then everyone could panic and the problem won’t get solved. At that moment, if someone steps up, they take on the challenge and the responsibility. Normally, at work, this means someone has to work longer hours or do something that’s not part of their normal job. In football, we normally use the phrasal verb to say that someone takes responsibility for a penalty kick. I’m sure that players feel a lot of pressure every time they step onto the pitch, but a penalty is another level of responsibility.

A masterpiece
This noun normally describes a work of art by a master. So Van Gogh’s Starry night is often described as a masterpiece as are almost all the paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci. Some novels are often referred to as masterpieces. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and 1984 by George Orwell are both described as literary masterpieces. Mozart’s Requiem is sometimes described as a classical masterpiece and there are lots of examples of modern music that are described as masterpieces as well. So, when I described Cole Palmer’s long range free kick that curled in perfectly to stretch the side netting as a masterpiece, I was describing it as the work of a master and comparing it to the achievements of great artists. OK ... this was possibly stretching the sense of masterpiece a little ... but it’s normal to use this sort of language when you’re praising someone’s performance.

Time to move on to the final story.

Magpies give City a run for their money

Manchester City travelled to St James' Park to face Newcastle United, and the atmosphere was electric from the start as the home fans welcomed the reigning champions. All eyes were on Erling Haaland, with many wondering if the striker would continue his goal-scoring streak. He got an early opportunity, but his shot lacked power and was comfortably saved by Nick Pope.

City took the lead soon after. Jack Grealish threaded a clever pass through to Joško Gvardiol, who skillfully weaved past the Newcastle defenders before calmly slotting the ball into the far right corner.

As the match progressed, Newcastle pushed for an equaliser. Just before the hour mark, Bruno Guimaraes played a long ball to Anthony Gordon, who raced past City's defence. Ederson rushed out to narrow Gordon's angle, but as the Newcastle forward sprinted towards goal, he was clipped by the goalkeeper’s glove and went down. Although the decision caused some controversy among the pundits, the referee didn’t hesitate and pointed to the penalty spot and penalised Ederson with a yellow card. Gordon remained calm under pressure, sending Ederson the wrong way and levelling the score.

In stoppage time, City almost found a winner. Bernardo Silva, receiving a pass from Phil Foden, turned quickly and unleashed a powerful shot. However, Nick Pope pulled off an exquisite reflex save, keeping the score level and ensuring the points were shared at St James’ Park.

Final score: Newcastle United 1 - 1 Manchester City

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

• To weave
• A reflex save

To weave
The verb weave comes from weaving which is making cloth. So a weaver would work on a loom, I think, and would interlace threads by running a thread between other threads. The thread would be laced over then under then over then under across the loom. If you looked at the loom from the side, the weaver would weave the thread to the left of the first thread then to the right of the second and then the left and then the right and so on. So, the verb is associated with movement through something. If you have to walk through a crowd, you might move to the left and to the right as you weave your way through. We also talk about weaving a story. This is when the storyteller combines different elements that sort of come together to create one story. In football, some players are really skilled dribblers and they can weave their way through their opposing defenders.

A reflex save
A reflex save describes when a goalkeeper reacts very quickly to stop the ball. The word "reflex" means an automatic or very fast reaction to something, usually without time to think. So, a reflex save happens when the goalkeeper doesn't have time to plan or position themselves but instead uses their instincts and quick reactions to block the ball from going into the goal.

Today, I’ve spoken about 7 useful words and phrases.

The phrases were:

• To frustrate
• Magnificent
• Diligent
• To step up
• A masterpiece
• To weave
• A reflex save

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

Hermanson makes life hard for Arsenal

Leicester made the trip to London on Saturday to take on Arsenal. The Foxes had only won once in their last 30 visits to Arsenal and were looking to improve that record.

Arsenal completely overran the visitors and it looked like they might be able to put the game to bed early on. However, Leicester managed to frustrate the gunners, especially Mads Hermansen in the Leicester goal.

After 20 minutes, Saka tricked the defence, darting into the middle before firing the ball towards Timber, who played a swift cross. Martinelli took a step back, pivoted, and struck well, scoring his first goal of the season.

Trossard doubled Arsenal's lead in stoppage time with a textbook finish, and the scoreline started to reflect Arsenal’s total domination.

But in the second half, Leicester fought their way back into the match. Saliba fouled Vardy just inside Arsenal’s half. Buonanotte took the free kick and sent the ball into the crowded box, where James Justin leapt up and headed it towards the goal. Raya might have saved it, but for a tiny deflection off Kai Havertz’s shoulder that wrong-footed the keeper.

In the 63rd minute, Leicester struck again. This time, Ndidi sent a long ball across the pitch to James Justin, who scored with a magnificent volley, hitting the inside of the upright and sending the away fans wild.

Arsenal were still dominant, but couldn’t find the net; mostly due to the diligent shot stopper in the Leicester goal. Hermansen was having an extraordinary game and made some remarkable saves in the second half.

Four minutes into added time, Arsenal finally broke through. They finally found a way through to goal with their 17th corner kick. Trossard volleyed the ball towards goal, and it was deflected in off Ndidi’s leg.

In the ninth minute of stoppage time, Kai Havertz scored. Declan Rice played the ball forward to Gabriel Jesus, who ran at goal and struck, only for Hermansen to make another save. James Justin tried to clear the loose ball, but it struck Havertz, deflecting into the net.

Final score: Arsenal 4 - 2 Leicester City

 

Ice Cold Palmer scores a record four

There was drama right from the start after a disastrous mix-up in Chelsea’s defence. Levi Colwill tried to clear the ball, but fired the ball right at Carlos Baleba. The ball deflected off Baleba and flew straight up into the air. Georginio Rutter soared in with a header, putting Brighton ahead.

This early setback didn’t seem to bother Cole Palmer who looked determined from the start. First, he broke free and struck well, but the ball clipped the post. The second time, he found the net, but was flagged offside. His third opportunity came from a Brighton mistake. Nicholas Jackson sprinted towards the goal, held onto the ball long enough to draw the keeper out, then teed up Palmer, who made no mistake in equalising for the Blues.

Minutes later, Enzo Fernandez and Jadon Sancho linked up well, forcing a foul in the penalty area and winning Chelsea a penalty. Cole Palmer stepped up, cool as ice, and slotted it away, living up to his nickname, "Cold Palmer."

Then came the moment everyone’s been talking about. Madueke got free of Estupiñán and was charging towards goal with just the keeper to beat, but the Ecuadorian pulled him back, earning a yellow card. Chelsea had two players standing over the ball—Gusto and Palmer. Although the ball was some way out, Brighton formed a wall. Palmer locked onto his target and unleashed an incredible free kick that curled into the net, striking the side netting. It was placed so perfectly, into a near-impossible spot, leaving the goalkeeper stranded on the wrong side of the goal. A moment of pure perfection from Palmer—his third in ten minutes. Over the wall, inside the post, a true masterpiece.

With a two goal lead, Chelsea looked like they might start to feel a bit more relaxed, but then Chelsea’s keeper Robert Sánchez made a major mistake, giving the ball away right in front of goal. Baleba pounced, scooped it up, and drove it home.

In the 41st minute, it was Brighton’s turn to slip up. A poor pass from their keeper was pounced on by Enzo Fernandez, who passed to Sancho. Spotting Palmer making a run, Sancho threaded the ball forward. Palmer ran over it and tapped it into the bottom left corner, setting a new record by becoming the first player to score four goals before half-time in a Premier League game.

Final score: Chelsea 4 - 2 Brighton and Hove Albion

Magpies give City a run for their money

Manchester City travelled to St James' Park to face Newcastle United, and the atmosphere was electric from the start as the home fans welcomed the reigning champions. All eyes were on Erling Haaland, with many wondering if the striker would continue his goal-scoring streak. He got an early opportunity, but his shot lacked power and was comfortably saved by Nick Pope.

City took the lead soon after. Jack Grealish threaded a clever pass through to Joško Gvardiol, who skillfully weaved past the Newcastle defenders before calmly slotting the ball into the far right corner.

As the match progressed, Newcastle pushed for an equaliser. Just before the hour mark, Bruno Guimaraes played a long ball to Anthony Gordon, who raced past City's defence. Ederson rushed out to narrow Gordon's angle, but as the Newcastle forward sprinted towards goal, he was clipped by the goalkeeper’s glove and went down. Although the decision caused some controversy among the pundits, the referee didn’t hesitate and pointed to the penalty spot and penalised Ederson with a yellow card. Gordon remained calm under pressure, sending Ederson the wrong way and levelling the score.

In stoppage time, City almost found a winner. Bernardo Silva, receiving a pass from Phil Foden, turned quickly and unleashed a powerful shot. However, Nick Pope pulled off an exquisite reflex save, keeping the score level and ensuring the points were shared at St James’ Park.

Final score: Newcastle United 1 - 1 Manchester City

Language challenge

Right, now it’s time for you to think about this language again. I have used AI to come up with examples of today’s phrases. I have removed the vocabulary from the stories so I want you to fill in the gaps with the correct forms of the language from the podcast.

Number 1. After months of _________ work, the team successfully launched the new product.

Number 2. When the team leader was absent, she decided to _________ and take charge of the project.

Number 3. The spider ________ its web delicately between the branches of the tree.

Number 4. It's easy to _________ young learners if tasks are too difficult for them.

Number 5. The goalkeeper made a spectacular ____________ to keep the ball from crossing the line.

Number 6. We visited a __________ castle during our trip to Scotland.

Number 7. The architecture of the cathedral is a true __________ of Gothic design.

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 phrases. For those of you who like hunting for the source of these phrases, today, I’ve extracted them from an article on the Premier League website about how Liverpool are changing now that Arne Slot is in charge.

This week’s football phrase is to be *** ** *** *****. This phrase is used to say that a team is in the lead in the Premier League. We use this phrase to say that a particular team has more points or is equal in points to a rival but has a greater goal difference. The league leaders are *** ** *** *****.

This week’s fiendish football phrase is ****** ****. This describes a situation where two players on opposing teams jump in the air to try to head the ball. The first part of the phrase can be used for anything that is in the air or off the ground and the second part describes an intense competition between two people.

If you know either of the answers, be sure to leave them 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 challenge.

Number 1. He gave his opponent a run for his money, pushing the game into overtime.

Number 2. With both sides level at 1-1, a late header broke the tie and gave the home team the victory.

Number 3. The negotiations were tough, but both sides dug in, refusing to back down.

Number 4. She almost threw in the towel during the marathon, but the support from the crowd kept her going.

Number 5. The penalty kick was all they needed to put the game to bed and end any hopes of a comeback.

Number 6. The football team struggled in the first half but came out on top with a last-minute goal.

Number 7. A school of thought in education believes that hands-on learning is more effective than traditional lectures.

Number 8. His decision to move abroad for work turned out to be a pivotal moment in his life.

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.