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Listening Report: 2013-14 Season Review

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Main Listening - Liverpool

After almost 11 months the 2013-14 European season has finally come to an end and so in this week’s report we take a quick look back at the winners and losers. This listening report is a shortened version of the regular weekly podcast. You can listen to the report by clicking on the link above and you can read the transcript below with key vocabulary explained at the bottom of the post.

Main Listening Report: 2013-14 Season Review

After almost 11 months of footballing action, the 2013-14 European season has finally come to an end and so in this week’s report we take a quick look back at some of the winners and losers of the past season.

Winners

Two of the most exciting and hard-fought league title races took place in England and Spain with Manchester City and Atletico Madrid eventually winning their respective domestic leagues on the final day of the season. City won their second title in three years but were made to work hard by Chelsea and, more surprisingly, Liverpool who despite finishing seventh the previous season ended up second – only three points behind the eventual winners. In Spain, Atletico Madrid won their first championship in 18 years in dramatic style when they picked up the draw needed to prize the title away from the holders Barcelona on the final day.

It was much more clear cut in Italy, France and Germany where Juventus, Paris Saint Germain and Bayern Munich all won their respective titles with lots to spare. Juventus won their third Scudetto in a row with a record haul of points, while Paris and Bayern also retained their domestic league titles withA Paris Saint Germain adding a League Cup and Bayern the German Cup to cap successful first seasons in charge for managers Laurent Blanc and Pep Guardiola.

Spanish sides dominated in the European competitions with Sevilla winning their third Europa League title in recent years after defeating Portuguese league champions Benfica on penalties. Real Madrid won their tenth European Cup/Champions League title (That’s ‘La Decima’) after an enthralling Champions League final against local rivals and newly-crowned Spanish champions Atletico Madrid. ‘Atleti’ were seconds away from their first ever win in this competition but Real’s pressure eventually told in Lisbon.

Losers

After Barcelona started the season so well few would have thought that they would end the season empty handed and that their Argentinian manager ‘Tato’ Martinez would resign. Runners-up in La Liga, losing Copa del Rey finalists and dumped out at the quarter-final stage of the Champions League, Barcelona had a season to forget. Though it would be a little harsh to call them losers, German side Borussia Dortmund suffered a similar fate as they finished second to Bayern in the Bundesliga, were beaten in the last eight of the Champions League and then lost, albeit controversially, in the German Cup final. Benfica lost their eighth European final in a row (this time the Europa League) but perhaps the biggest losers of the season were Manchester United who slumped from being title holders to finishing in seventh place in the Premier League.

Vocabulary

hard-fought: Tough, very close

they picked up the draw: They secured the point; they drew the game they needed to

to prize the title away from: To take the title from

much more clear cut: It was clearer

with lots to spare: Easily, a large points gap

a record haul of points: More points than ever before; the most ever points total

to cap successful: To end the seasons well

enthralling: Exciting, tense

but Real’s pressure eventually told: The pressure finally paid off; they finally won

empty handed: they won nothing

suffered a similar fate: Did something similar; had a bad season as well

albeit: Even though it was a little controversial

slumped: Dropped dramatically

 

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