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Learn English Through Football Podcast: Extend Their Lead
In this week’s football-language podcast we look at some language connected to the top of the table: ‘to extend their lead‘ and ‘to move clear‘. We also look ahead to the big games in England and France in our predictions. You can read the transcript for this podcast below, while you can also check out our glossary of footballing phrases here and visit our site to access all our previous posts and podcasts. If you have any suggestions or questions about the phrase or our podcast then you can contact us here.
Hello
DF: You’re listening to the Learn English through Football Podcast.
DF: Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well and that you are enjoying all the football. My name is Damian and I am one half of the Learn English Through Football team and I am based here in London where we are still having very wet weather – it really hasn’t stopped raining in weeks! How about in Tokyo where the other member of the team, Damon, is based? How are you Damon and what’s it like over in Japan at the moment?
DB: Hi Damian. Good to hear from you. Well, parts of Japan have had massive snow falls over the past few weeks, but Tokyo has escaped the worst weather. Today, there’s a bit of snow in the air, and it is very cold and windy. Not great footballing weather!
Stinger: You are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast.com (Cantonese)
DB: Thank you for that message, which was in Cantonese, and yes, you are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast, formerly langaugecaster.com. Right, Damian, what’s on the show today?
On the Show
DF: OK, on today’s show, we’re going to talk about two phrases used to describe teams at the top of the table and specifically how well they are doing: move clear and extend their lead. And we will finish with our predictions. We’ve got two big clashes – two big games – to look forward to: one in the Premier League, Liverpool vs Manchester City and one in Ligue 1, with PSG taking on Marseille.
DB: Sounds good! But before that, here is another stinger, or message. We’ve already had one in Cantonese, but do you know what language the next one is in? We will have more of these throughout the show, so try and see how many you recognise. And most importantly, send us your message in your language saying, ‘You are listening to the Learn English Through Football Podcast!’. Record it and send it to contact@languagecaster.com. OK, here’s the next stinger.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Uzbek)
Extend their lead
DF: OK, well we are recording this show on Saturday and the leaders in Spain and England have already won their league matches this weekend. Barcelona won 3-0 against Mallorca, while Arsenal also won 3-0 – they defeated Sunderland. Arsenal are now nine points clear at the top of the table and although Manchester City have a game in hand – they play Liverpool tomorrow – this appears to be a big enough lead for fans to start dreaming about winning the title.
Many of the match reports here in England focus on the fact that the win has meant Arsenal have increased their lead at the top of the table; they have stretched their lead and another way of saying this is to extend their lead. So, to extend means the same as stretch which is when something gets bigger or longer. Before last weekend’s games, Arsenal were four points clear of Manchester City and Aston Villa but City dropped two points at Tottenham (thank you!) and Villa lost at home to Brentford and then drew at Bournemouth this weekend which means Arsenal are now nine points clear of both of these sides – there has been a five point swing in only a week!
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (from a fan in Brazil)
Move clear
DF: So, I also mentioned that Barcelona have stretched their lead at the top of the table in Spain after a comfortable 3-0 win over Mallorca. Real Madrid have yet to play so the Catalan side are now four points clear at the top – they moved four points clear. Real Madrid travel to Valencia under a little more pressure as they know that any kind of slip up (or mistake) will mean Barcelona moving more points clear at the top.
So, let’s look at these phrases again: ‘to extend their lead‘ and ‘to move clear at the top‘ both describe the leaders going further ahead of the teams in second and third positions in the league. We can also use ‘stretch their lead‘ and ‘go clear at the top‘.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Spanish)
DB: Great stuff Damian. Right, let’s turn our attention to our predictions for this week’s podcast. And, as we said, we’ve got the Premier League clash between Liverpool and Manchester City and also a Ligue 1 game between leaders PSG and third place team Marseille. Damian, what do you think about the northwest clash between my team Liverpool and Man City?
Predictions: Liverpool vs Manchester City
DF: Well, City are nine points behind leaders Arsenal so will need a win to stay in touch. But I am not sure that they will get it at Liverpool. I reckon it will be a draw – maybe 1-1.
DB: Well, I’d probably take a draw. It wouldn’t help either team in the league, but it might set Liverpool up for the run in to the end of the season. A point against City is always good. However, I think it will be 2-0 to the Reds, with another brace for Ekitike after last week’s two against Newcastle.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Vietnamese)
DB: OK, what about PSG vs Marseille? I have a soft spot for the team from the south of France. I worked with a fantastic guy from Marseille, Patrice, a long time ago, so I always back them, especially against their northern rivals. But a win maybe beyond them, so I’ll go for a 1-1 draw. Damian?
DF: Marseille have stumbled a little in recent weeks – remember that they didn’t make it to the Champions League knock-out stage – so I think Paris will easily win this one; they will have too much for their rivals. 2-0 for me.
DB: OK, well those are our predictions, and listener, why don’t you practice your predictions language with us? What do you think will happen in any games that you are watching this week or the ones we have talked about ? What do you reckon will happen? Will anyone score a brace? Let us know by coming along to our site or on any of our social media sites – you can find us on Facebook; on YouTube; Instagram and many more.
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (a Ferencvaros fan)
Contact
DF: And remember, our website has a huge glossary of football terms, with hundreds of expressions, phrases, and clichés about the beautiful game of football. And we have just posted a new page with lots of our weekly football expressions from the past 20 years! Let us know what you think. And of course, tell a friend about us and give us ‘a like’ on your favourite podcast and social media platforms!
Stinger: You are listening to languagecaster.com (in Italian)
DF: Yes, that message was in Italian and well done if you got that right. We have also heard messages in Uzbek, Portuguese from Brazil, Spanish, Vietnamese and Italian.
Remember, as Damon said, you can add a message in your language by sending us a recording for the Learn English Through Football Podcast – we’d love to hear from you. And don’t forget to like us or leave a good review on any of your social media platforms. It’s a big help!
Goodbye
DF: Right, let’s take a quick look at some of the words and phrases from this week’s show: Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the table after their win over Sunderland today, while Barcelona moved four points clear at the top of La Liga. Can Manchester City and Real Madrid react and cut the gap by winning their games tomorrow?
Enjoy all the football this weekend and we’ll be back with another football expression early on next week. Bye bye!
DB: Ta-ra!
Related Links
Learn English Through Football Podcast: A show for football fans to improve their English language skills
