Learn English Through Football Podcast – (to) Open Up: Hi there everybody, my name is Damon, one half of the languagecaster team. On this  short audio post on the language of football, I’ll be talking about the verb phrase ‘open up‘ and also some other ways ‘open‘ is used when talking about football.  If you would like the transcript to the podcast, please consider becoming a supporter through Patreon.com – it’s only a few dollars and keeps this site and podcasts running. If you have any questions or comments, or you have your own suggestion for a football phrase, then email us at: [email protected]. 

Football Language: (to) Open Up

Right, let’s start with ‘open up‘ and a sentence from a football report – a match between Manchester City and Chelsea reported on the Guardian website:

“De Bruyne’s shot rolled just wide of an upright but it was a warning to Chelsea: out of nothing two smart passes had opened them up through the middle.”

Two smart passes had opened Chelsea up – notice that the noun Chelsea appears between the verb ‘open’ and the preposition ‘up’ – opened Chelsea up;

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Check out our glossary of footballing phrases here If you have any suggestions, contact us at [email protected]