Olimpiacos beat Manchester City 5-4 on penalty kicks

MINNEAPOLIS -- Dimitrios Diamantakos scored twice in regulation and Roberto Jimenez Gago made two saves in a shootout to help Olimpiacos beat Manchester City 5-4 on penalty kicks Saturday after a 2-2 tie in the International Challenge Cup game. The biggest concern for the clubs coming in was the condition of the grass field that had been installed by the tournament promoter over the artificial turf at TCF Bank Stadium, home of the University of Minnesota football team. Although seams in the sod were clearly visible, the players avoided injury on a day when temperatures climbed into the upper-80s, requiring a water break midway through the second half. "We think the field was terrible, the conditions were terrible, it was very hot today, but our team didnt care about this," Olympiacos coach Michel said through an interpreter. "They wanted to play and thats what we did. For us it was very important that we participate and play against teams of this level. The fact that we had the opportunity to win, even if it was on penalties, we enjoyed it." In the shootout, Avraam Papadopoulos had a chance to give Olympiacos the win in the fifth round but Manchester City keeper Joe Hart made a remarkable kick save on a ball that stayed in the middle of the goal as he dived to the right. However, two rounds later, Micah Richards of Manchester City missed high, and Anastasios Papazoglou steered a shot into the lower left corner to give Olympiacos the victory. Aleksander Kolarov put English Premier League champion Manchester City up 2-1 in the 53rd minute on a penalty kick after David Silva was tripped in the Olimpiacos box. But Diamantakos tied it in the 65th minute when he took a feed at the top of the box, made a move to get past goalkeeper Joe Hart and blasted it into the open net Manchester City opened the scoring on Stevan Jovetic goal in the 35th minute. Jovetic took a pass from Samir Nasri, dribbled past one defender, then split two others with a right-footed shot that beat a flat-footed Jimenez Gago. Two minutes later, Diamantakos tied it for Olimpiacos. Ionnis Maniatis got behind the defence in the Manchester City box, then passed back to Diamantakos, who was open near the penalty spot. Diamantakos took one dribble to the left, then fired back across his body and past Hart. The outcome, however, wasnt as important to the teams as the chance to face elite competition leading up to the start of league play later this month. "Its been extremely useful and the teams been very professional, like in the first half against Liverpool," Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini said of his clubs showing in the tournament. "The positives will be the quality of these games and the level that was achieved in each of these games. The negatives will be the travelling distances, and that obviously stops the team from training more." Michel, whose club made the final 16 of the UEFA Champions League last year before losing to Manchester United, concurred. "We are preparing ourselves for our national league in Greece but we are also preparing ourselves to participate in the Champions League" he said. "This was a great experience for us in preparation. We played like we want to play in the Champions League." After the game Pellegrini confirmed that former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is returning to the English Premier League with Manchester City on a six-month loan from MLS expansion team New York City FC. "From next week, on Wednesday, hell start working with our team," Pellegrini said. "At the moment, he will start working with our squad because he is a member of the squad. He will be in the fight for a position. We have a very good team. He is one player more. We have a lot of competition, especially in the Champions League, so he is very important to our team." Lampard signed a two-year contact with the New York club -- owned by Manchester City and the New York Yankees -- last month. The MLS team is scheduled to begin play next year. Odell Beckham Jr Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan examines a team facing some challenging times as GM Bryan Murray tries to put together a roster for next season. Perhaps the first challenge facing Murray is that its expected he will be moving out Jason Spezza, a premier point producer who is about to enter the final year of his contract. Custom Cleveland Browns Jerseys http://www.officialclevelandbrownspro.com/Nick-chubb-browns-jersey/ . As each game passes (each has played close with the exception of last night) it becomes clearer just how evenly matched these two teams are and how one mistake, or one bad inning, is likely to sway the result. Myles Garrett Jersey . Reimer told TSNs Mark Masters on Tuesday that he doesnt know if he will be moved leading up to the March 5 trade deadline but added he wasnt interested in discussing it. "Who knows whats going to happen on the horizon here and right now I dont know if I want to talk about it too much. Cleveland Browns Jerseys . However, Therrien added that Galchenyuks status for next Wednesdays game against the Detroit Red Wings is questionable. Galchenyuk has been out since Jan. 6 with a broken right hand.Whats traditionally been a gruelling turnaround in the CFL will be slightly easier when the Edmonton Eskimos host the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday. For nearly a quarter-century, the Eskimos have played in Calgary on Labour Day with the rematch just four days later in Edmonton. Since 1989, the lone exception to that schedule was in 1992. You can catch all the action starting at 7pm et/4pm pt on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5 and TSN GO. Calgary (8-1) and Edmonton (7-2) get one more days rest than usual this year after the Stampeders 28-13 win Monday at McMahon Stadium. Its not a lot, but a little more time to repair bodies and prepare brains for the second game that always feels like a marathon for players on both sides. "This is going to be a four-quarter game," Stampeder linebacker Juwan Simpson predicted before the team departed for the Alberta capital. "If we feel in any way shape, form or fashion this game is going to be like it was the other day, weve got another thing coming. All these second games have almost come down to the wire. "A lot of guys will be aching, but the game, the adrenaline gets you through it. But mentally, its here we go, same team, same thing. You have to keep yourself in the meeting rooms, keep yourself getting healthy and not just take it for granted because youre playing the same team." The Stampeders are 2-0 against Edmonton in 2014 and clinched the season series with Mondays victory. Calgary hasnt lost Game 2 of the September home-and-home since 2006 and owns a 10-game winning streak against Edmonton. This is Edmontons last chance in the regular season to get a win over their southern rival because the Alberta clubs dont meet again in the second half of the schedule. "The good thing is youre playing the same opponent so youre not going to put in a million new defences and offences or anything on special teams," Eskimos head coach Chris Jones told reporters in Edmonton. "Youve got to go back in and look at what we did well and try to utlilize it and add a thing or two and thats it." Eskimos quarterback Matt Nichols completed 18 of 30 pass attempts for 208 yards Monday, but Edmonton didnt score an offensive touchdown. Calgarys defence hasnt given up one in 29 consecutive drives by opposing offences. An injured thumb on Mike Reillys throwing hand kept the Esks quarterback out of Mondays game and ended his run of consecutive CFL starts at 26.dddddddddddd He didnt throw the ball much in practices this week, which indicates another start for Nichols. "Its always a tough week when you only have a few days off in between games, but at the same time you dont have to do the extra game planning," Nichols said after Mondays loss. CFL all-star receiver Fred Stamps returns to Edmontons lineup after sitting out four games with a lower-body injury. Grant Shaw, who had field goals from 13 and 44 yards Monday, has been put on Edmontons injured list. Hometown product Hugh ONeill will handle kicking duties Saturday. Calgarys Edwin Harrison slides in at right tackle for Dan Federkeil, who left Mondays game with an injury. Stampeder receiver Joe West will not play because hell be in Texas for his brothers funeral. Despite missing six games with concussion symptoms in July and August, Calgary running back Jon Cornish isnt out of contention to win a third straight league rushing title. But with nine games remaining, hell need more performances like the 163 yards he had Monday. The New Westminster, B.C., native is 253 yards behind current CFL leader Nic Grigsby of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The extra day of rest could especially benefit Cornish on Saturday, but he didnt mind the short turnarounds of previous years. "Ive always liked playing on Fridays," Cornish said. "I always enjoyed the sort of epicness of that quick turnaround. "I know a lot of people werent super-fond of playing more than one football game in a week, but I liked that. Its a challenge to rise to." Edmonton was 1-8 at the halfway point last season. Their six-win swing matches the CFLs best mid-season improvement previously achieved twice by Hamilton (1960, 1997) and once by Toronto (1995). Those teams played in the Grey Cup those years, so the Esks have reason to be optimistic despite their winless record against Calgary this season. "This is probably the most confident team Ive ever been on," Eskimos linebacker J.C. Sherritt said. "Like we said after we took that loss, we were just happy we were going to play them again right now so we can line up again against them." 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