Europa League champions Atalanta missed out on an automatic place in the Champions League last 16 with a 2-2 draw at Barcelona on Wednesday, with Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo scoring for the already-qualified hosts.

Atalanta, who were missing one of their top strikers Ademola Lookman because of a knee injury, slipped down to ninth in the standings on 15 points and will play in the two-legged knockout phase playoff round instead.

Five-time winners Barcelona, who last lifted the trophy in 2015, had already secured their last-16 berth last week through a dramatic 5-4 comeback win at Benfica.

Yamal gave Barcelona the lead two minutes after the break from point-blank range before Ederson levelled for Atalanta in the 67th minute with a stunning shot from the edge of the area that sailed inside the left post.

Defender Araujo restored the lead for Barca with a header following a corner in the 72nd but Atalanta's Mario Pasalic equalised again seven minutes later, nutmegging goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with a low strike.

Atalanta, who had to measure themselves against teams such as Arsenal and Real Madrid in the competition's new league phase, will know their playoff rivals in the draw on Friday, with the games being played on Feb. 11-12 and Feb. 18-19.

Utah Hockey Club will not be moving forward with "Yeti" or "Yetis" as its team nickname and will hold an in-arena fan vote to pick a new one.

The team expects to announce a permanent name and identity before the 2025-26 NHL season. The new fan vote comes after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected names and logos that Utah Hockey Club had submitted for approval, in particular "Utah Yetis," which was widely assumed to be the franchise's eventual nickname.

Fans attending Utah's next four home games will have the opportunity to vote for three options using tablets stationed around Delta Center. The team estimates that could be upward of 15,000 fans per game.

The name options are:

Utah Hockey Club. The team's current name was meant as a placeholder for its inaugural season in Salt Lake City, after Smith Entertainment Group purchased the Arizona Coyotes franchise. "It has always been our intention to let our season one identity as Utah Hockey Club, the team's performance, and the amazing response from our fans hold the conversation through our inaugural season," said Chris Armstrong, the team's president of hockey operations.

Utah Mammoth. This nickname was one of six finalists from a fan vote held last year, along with Utah Blizzard, Utah Hockey Club, Utah Outlaws, Utah Venom and Utah Yeti. Team owner Ryan Smith later revealed on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show" that Mammoth had made the final four options.

Utah Wasatch. This is an entirely new option for Utah's team name, as it wasn't included in the initial 20 names presented to fans in a survey. It references the Wasatch mountain range in Utah, known for its many ski resorts. But the team acknowledges that it's basically a replacement for "Utah Yeti." The name will allow the team to use a "mythical snow creature in the form of a Yeti" as its mascot, according to Mike Maughan of Smith Entertainment Group.

The fans will vote on these three names and two logos: One for the Utah Mammoth and one that would be used for either the Utah Hockey Club or the Utah Wasatch that features the Yeti-like creature, which Maughan said is known as the "mountain defender" logo internally.

This might not be the last fan vote, according to Maughan, who said there could be another round after this. But he reiterated that whatever the fans decide in these votes will be the name of the Utah team beginning next season.

Maughan said the team submitted all 20 names on its initial survey to the USPTO. But the biggest refusal was for "Yeti" or "Yetis." It was widely expected, even among Utah players, that "Yeti" or "Yetis" would eventually win out as the team name.

The USPTO rejected a trademark application from the team for "Utah Yetis" because of the "likelihood of confusion" for consumers to other companies and brands that use the name. Utah Hockey Club was seeking to use "Utah Yetis" on a variety of clothing items. The USPTO said a database search turned up "a number of third-party marks registered for use in connection with the same or similar goods and/or services as those of both applicant and registrant in this case."

Among those parties was Yeti Coolers LLC, which makes drinkware, coolers and clothing.

"We engaged deeply with Yeti Cooler Company and worked with them over a process to see if there was some coexistence agreement that we could engage with them on," said Maughan. "They have a unique and strong trademark on anything published Yeti or Yetis. We did not have a coexistence agreement with Yeti and therefore have decided to move on from that name."

Maughan said the team anticipated trademark hurdles for Yeti and other names -- including Utah Hockey Club, which also was rejected but faces less of a barrier to future approval -- and thus anticipated the need to pivot. He said the team is confident the three names in the fan vote should clear the USPTO process.

"We have an incredible team, and we are very confident we have a clear path to each of those names," he said. "We have strategies to approach each of them and feel that we're on very solid ground as we continue forward."

Fan voting on the new name will begin during Tuesday night's game against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.

Utah Hockey Club is in its first season playing in Salt Lake City. The Arizona Coyotes franchise was sold to Utah Jazz owners Smith Entertainment Group in April 2024. SEG acquired the franchise, its players and its hockey operations department in the sale, although the team is considered a new franchise rather than an extension of the Coyotes' legacy.

Manchester City scraped through to the playoff knockout round of the Champions League with a 3-1 win over Club Brugge at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

The result means Pep Guardiola maintains his record of progressing from the opening stage of the competition in every year of his managerial career.

City dominated possession in the first half but failed to create any clear-cut chances, though Ilkay Gündogan did put the ball in the net from an offside position.

They were stung in the half's closing moments as Brugge counterattacked and Raphael Onyedika finished calmly after some excellent work from Ferran Jutglà on the left wing.

Guardiola's side forced the issue in the second half, with Mateo Kovacic giving his side hope in the 53rd minute with a great solo run through the Brugge midfield and a fine finish, before tricky work from Savinho saw Josko Gvardiol find space on the left-hand side of the box, with his ball in deflecting off Joel Ordóñez and into the net.

Savinho, who came off the bench to spark the comeback, then scored himself in the 77th minute to seal the result.

City's campaign in Europe this season has seen a number of uncharacteristic collapses, beginning with a 4-1 humbling away to Sporting CP -- then coached by now-Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim.

They then threw a three-goal lead away at home to Feyenoord, fell to a 2-0 defeat at Juventus and conceded four against Paris Saint-Germain last Wednesday to put their hopes of progressing in doubt.

However, the win against Brugge means their resurgence continues, with a two-legged playoff tie to come against an opponent to be decided on Friday.

Elsewhere, Liverpool finished atop the league phase table despite losing 3-2 to PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday as second-placed Barcelona were held at home against Atalanta.

Arsenal and Aston Villa both won to finish in the top eight and secure direct progress to the round of 16, as did Atlético Madrid. Lautaro Martínez scored a hat trick for Inter Milan as they thrashed AS Monaco.

Real Madrid and Bayern Munich won their final games against Brest and Slovan Bratislava, respectively, but face the same fate as City in the playoffs having made slow starts to their continental seasons.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle will be out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair a lacerated quadricep muscle, the team announced on Wednesday.

Guhle was released from the hospital on Wednesday, one day after sustaining the injury while getting his legs tangled and falling into the boards during Montreal's 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

"Where are we going to feel 'Guhls?' I think all over," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said after practice on Wednesday. "He plays a lot of minutes 5-on-5, he kills penalties. I don't think it's one specific (area) but his presence is going to be felt, that he's not here, but it's not one guy that's going to replace him."

Signed to a six-year, $33.3 million contract extension prior to the season, Guhle has recorded 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) and averaged 21:14 of ice time in 44 games.

Guhle, 23, has totaled 54 points (14 goals, 40 assists) in 158 career games since being selected by Montreal with the 16th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft.

Also on Wednesday, defenseman Jayden Struble was recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League. Struble has five points (two goals, three assists) in 26 games with the Canadiens this season.

The St. Louis Blues and Brandon Saad are mutually terminating his contract after he was put on waivers on Wednesday.

Saad will need to go on waivers again before the move can be made official on Thursday.

Saad, 32, will be walking away from $5.425 million in cash owed to him, per PuckPedia. The Blues had tried to trade Saad over the last several months, sources told ESPN, but did not find any partners.

"Obviously the production's not there," GM Doug Armstrong said in a midseason news conference on Tuesday. "Right now the cap is tight, and obviously, statistically, he's not having a great year and he's got another year left. If we could find a match, we would try."

Saad has just 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 43 games this season, along with a 9.3 shooting percentage -- the second worst mark of his 14-year career.

Saad, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Chicago Blackhawks, is under contract through the end of next season with a $4.5 million cap hit. Saad would like to continue playing in the NHL, sources said, but the additional year remaining on his contract and the high cap hit was a roadblock for other teams to claim him on waivers Wednesday or agree to a trade. Saad will now be a free agent and can sign with any other team. The Blues would have been charged a $1.15 million cap hit had Saad played for their AHL affiliate in Springfield; the team will now be cleared of his full contract giving them financial flexibility.

It's already been a season of transition for St. Louis, which fired coach Drew Bannister in November and hired Jim Montgomery after he was let go in Boston.

The Blues are in what Armstrong has called a retool. The team doesn't feel it can afford a full rebuild and is working to transition on the fly around a new core group of players in their early 20s: Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, as well as Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg who were acquired over the summer from offer sheets.

Manchester City forward Chloe Kelly has released an emotional statement asking to be granted her wish to leave the club in search of first-team football.

Kelly has only played a six times in the Women's Super League for City this season, and with the Euros in the summer, she is desperate to remain in action.

In a statement posted to Instagram, she said she is resigned to leaving City at the end of her contract this summer, but said the situation is having "a huge impact on not only my career but my mental wellbeing."

Kelly's statement comes just a day before transfer deadline day in the WSL. Sources have told ESPN that Manchester United remain keen to sign Kelly on loan, but City are reluctant to let her leave for their rivals and another side in the mix at the top of the table.

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has again called out Marcus Rashford, telling reporters that the forward "has to change" if he is to force his way back into the matchday squad.

Amorim has excluded Rashford from the team for 11 games in a row since a 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Dec. 12, starting with the Manchester derby victory against Manchester City.

After United's 1-0 win over Fulham on Sunday, Amorim said he would rather pick 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital than Rashford as a result of continuing concerns over the 27-year-old's standards.

"Our team, you can look at our team and imagine the profile of the players. Now imagine a talent like Rashford," Amorim told a news conference on Wednesday. "Our team should be so much better with Rashford. But this Rashford, he has to change.

"If he changes, we are more than welcome to put a talent like Rashford [in the squad]. And we need it. But in this moment, I think it's really clear that we have to set some standards. We are waiting for Marcus, if he wants [to play] really really bad."

The Portuguese coach went on to deny that there is any personal rift between himself and the player, who said in December that he was "ready for a new challenge" after his omission for the City clash.

"That's the only thing. You tried to make like something personally, I have nothing against Marcus," he said. "I just have to make the same rules for everybody and that for me it's so simple, it's always the same answer."

Rashford continues to be linked with a move away from Old Trafford, with ESPN reporting last week that his representatives held face-to-face talks with Barcelona about a potential move before the transfer deadline.

United play Romania's FCSB on Thursday looking to cement their place in the Europa League round of 16 with a top-eight finish in the league phase.

Aston Villa have rejected a formal offer from Arsenal for Ollie Watkins, sources have told ESPN.

Arsenal want to sign a forward before Monday's transfer deadline and are pursuing alternative options after accepting Benjamin Sesko is unlikely to leave Red Bull Leipzig this month.

Sources have told ESPN that Arsenal have now made a formal move for Watkins but their opening bid was dismissed out of hand by Villa.

They are now weighing whether to return with an improved offer after Villa's Champions League group stage finale on Wednesday evening against Celtic.

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Watkins is thought to be open to a move to Emirates Stadium, having previously said in 2020: "That's the dream, to play for Arsenal one day."

However, the England international has three years left on his current deal and Villa are in a strong negotiating position to demand a high fee.

Another factor complicating Arsenal's pursuit of Watkins is interest from Al-Nassr in Villa striker Jhon Durán with the Saudi Pro League transfer window set to close on Friday.

Villa would be highly unlikely to consider selling both Duran and Watkins in this window. Duran is valued in the region of 80million and Al-Nassr are said to be weighing up a big-money move for either the 21-year-old or Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface. Any deal for Duran would make Arsenal's attempt to prise Watkins away in the same window much more difficult.