On this week’s football-language podcast we look ahead to the first leg of the 2018 Copa Libertadores final between Boca Juniors and River Plate – the superclásico continental final! We also look forward to the Manchester derby which features in our predictions competition along with Chelsea v Everton and Arsenal v Wolves. There is also a football quiz question and we explain some football language, including the phrase ‘to set up a goal‘ and the cliche ‘put it in the mixer‘. If you’d like the transcript to the show – great for learners and teachers of English – please show your support by becoming a patron (through Patreon) and if you have questions or comments, email us at: admin@languagecaster.com (Damian=DF, Damon=DB).
DF: …the day after the first leg of the superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate should have been played in the 2018 Copa Libertadores final but thanks to some heavy rain – some really heavy downfalls – the game in Buenos Aires was postponed for 24 hours and will now take place later on today. And w e’ll be looking ahead to the 58th Copa Libertadores final later on in the show. Now down the line in Tokyo, Japan is Damon. How are you doing Damon?
DB: Hi Damian. Things are good here in Tokyo. Beautiful weather – sun and blue skies, no rain at all. Now, did you watch any football last week?
DF: Well, it is a really busy time in the football world so I have watched a lot of football recently. Last Saturday I saw four games from the Premier League: On TV I watched Bournemouth lose at home to Manchester United who won with a last-gasp winner, then I walked down to the London Stadium to see home side West Ham take on Burnley. I went with my brother who is a Hammers fan and he was delighted as they won 4-2 in a thriller. We then watched the top-of-the-table clash between Arsenal and your team Liverpool which was an end-to-end affair and finished 1-1 and finally I saw the Wolves versus Tottenham game which my team Spurs managed to hold on to win 3-2 in another really exciting match.
DB: Yes, that was a late kick-off wasn’t it? Anything else?
DF: Oh yes, it was, of course, Champions League week so I watched Spurs beat Dutch side PSV 2-1 to keep their slim hopes of qualifying for the knock-out stages alive thanks to a double deflection.
DB: What’s a double deflection, Damian ?