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. Cheap Raptors Jerseys .Stanton suffered fractures in his face and other injuries when he was hit by a pitch Sept. 11. The Marlins are confident hell fully recover and be ready for spring training, and they hope to reach a long-term agreement with him. Toronto Raptors Pro Shop . -- Kevin Harvick pulled away on a restart with 47 laps to go and ended Chase Elliotts two-race winning streak in NASCARs Nationwide Series with a dominating victory early Saturday at Richmond International Raceway. https://www.cheapraptors.com/ . The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the league hasnt announced the award. Crawford was the Clippers third-leading scorer and the NBAs top-scoring reserve with 18. Raptors Jerseys 2019 .500 were once common achievements for the Dallas Mavericks. Now, both are season highs as Dallas slowly works its way back into playoff contention in the Western Conference. Wholesale Raptors Jerseys . Dallas (2-0-1) sits atop the Western Conference with an MLS-best seven points. Castillo opened the scoring in the 71st minute off a Mauro Diaz set piece, and Watson outran defender Tony Lochhead on a long ball and then juked goalkeeper Ian Kennedy for the eventual game-winner in the 78th minute.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hey Kerry, Can you clarify something for me please? On every draw taken by Jonathan Toews, Ive noticed that as soon as the first stick touches the ice (his own on the road and the opponents at home) he simultaneously turns his body and moves his left foot forward, positioning it in front of his opponents right foot immediately before the puck is dropped. This allows him to basically block out the opposing player before the puck is even dropped. How is this not considered to be encroaching (or jumping early) on the faceoff? To me, hes basically being allowed an advantage by getting a head start so to speak on the draw. Keep it up Mr. Fraser! Kyle ShermanWestlake Village, CA Kyle: I did not take your claim lightly that Jonathan Toews cheats on every faceoff, so I examined consecutive faceoffs in an objective manner that the Hawks captain was involved in during the first period of Wednesday nights game. You might be surprised to learn (which I wasnt at all) that the centres from both teams were cheating every chance they could get and as much as the linesmen allowed! There was considerable stick movement regardless of which player placed his stick on the ice first (especially from Jarret Stoll who utilizes a quick stick tap up and down to be in motion when the linesman releases the puck). So put your stick down and your skates squared up on each side of the lines Kyle because this is what transpired: 1) Opening faceoff: Toews set up with open stance to the right before the referee Marc Joannette moved into position to drop the puck. Toews won the opening faceoff cleanly over Anze Kopitar and the Hawks puck possession and attack led to Drew Doughty being called for tripping Toews. 2) As a result of the Kings penalty, Toews took the draw to the right side of Jonathan Quick. From this location, the Hawks captain wanted to draw the puck back to his left. Both Toews and Stoll line up with their feet square on each side of the markings. Toews puts his stick on the ice first butt then picks it up as Stoll comes down with an effort to time the drop.dddddddddddd The linesman puts the puck in and both centres tie up but Toews wins the puck back from the scrum. This puck possession results in a Hawk power play goal by Brent Seabrook. 3) Toews set up square for a Hawks attacking zone left side draw back. Stoll demonstrates a dramatic set to the right with his skates. Jonathan Toews wins the draw cleanly back for another Hawks attacking zone puck possession. 4) Toews lost a neutral zone faceoff as he set up square while Anze Kopitar was twisted to the right. Kopitar won the draw to the sidewall and created a Kings entry into the Hawks zone (First commercial timeout then resulted). 5) Centre ice faceoff following Jarret Stoll goal which saw both Jonathan Toews and Anze Kopitar dramatically twisted as they lined up. Both players moved to gain the benefit of a timed drop. Toews was faster and more dramatic but Kopitar won the draw back and Kings controlled. 6) With 7:10 remaining in the period and a Hawks end zone left side faceoff, Jarret Stoll places his stick on the ice first and does a stick tap up and down to gain momentum as Toews comes down and then up with his stick. Both players attempted to gain the benefit of this timed drop but Stoll was clearly twisted to his right with movement and won the draw back as the Kings controlled the puck in their attacking zone. The linesman fell to the ice and was likely fined a "six-pack." Play went end to end until Marian Gaborik scored on a terrific pass from Anze Kopitar. I think you get the picture by now Kyle. Jonathan Toews is not the only centre thats rotating his left skate in advance of the puck drop; there is cheating on both sides of the faceoff circle! What you have highlighted Kyle is the need for the linesmen to be more diligent in squaring the centres as they get set to drop the puck and not allow a player to swing or move his stick to gain the benefit of a "timed drop". Puck possession off an end zone can be a huge factor in the outcome of a game. Thank you for pointing this out! ' ' '