La Rochelle: Leyds; Nowell, Seuteni, Danty, Thomas; West, Kerr-Barlow; Wardi, Latu, Atonio, Douglas, Skelton, Jegou, Haddad, Alldritt (capt).

Replacements: Lespiaucq, Penverne, Colombe-Reazel, Dillane, Botia, Cancoriet, Berjon, Favre.

Bristol: Elizalde, Bates, Ravouvou, Janse van Rensburg, Ibitoye; Worsley, Randall Genge, Oghre, Chawatama, Luatua (capt), Owen, Grondona, Heenan, Mata.

Replacements: Thacker, Woolmore, Lahiff, Hodgson, Grondona, Marmion, Lane, Jenkins.

Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)

The two sides came into the game in fine form with Leinster unbeaten in the United Rugby Championship and off the back of an away victory in Bristol to start their European campaign.

Clermont, meanwhile, had enjoyed a bonus-point win against Benetton seven days prior and sat third in the Top 14.

Both rolled the dice in the selection of inside centres in new positions.

Short-term signing Barrett made his first Leinster start as a fullback, a position familiar to the 67-times capped All Black from earlier in his career but he had not worn the 15 jersey in two years.

For Clermont, Australian Irae Simone had never started a professional game at fly-half but was wearing 10 in Dublin.

The newcomer to the jersey had a hand in the game's opening try.

It was his grubber through that came off the boot of Max Deegan and was gathered Pierre Fouyssac. After the centre was hauled down short of the line, Raka crashed over from close range.

Across the opening quarter, a frustrated Leinster saw line-outs lost and passes both drift forward and go to ground.

It was not until the 21st minute when things really clicked, Garry Ringrose the beneficiary as he went over one pass after Deegan produced a brilliant offload out the back for Prendergast.

Clermont were foiled in their attempts to strike back immediately when a thrilling move ended when Alex Newsome lost the ball charging for the line and Leinster went straight up the other end to score.

This time, it was from a clever tap and go penalty five metres out with Barrett's second try in as many appearances for Leinster popular among the Dublin crowd.

Despite taking some time to move through the gears, Leinster would likely have felt that with a stronger line-out, they could have been further ahead at the turn.

Harlequins: Green; Isgro, Beard, Northmore, Murley; Smith, Care; Baxter, Walker, Kerrod, Herbst, Hammond, Cunningham-South, Chisholm, Dombrandt (c)

Replacements: Riley, Jones, Lewis, Browne, Kenningham, Evans, Porter, Evans

Stormers: Blommetjies; Davids, Simelane, Du Plessis, Senatla; Matthee, Ungerer; Matongo, Kotze, Sandi, Moerat (c), Evans, Ewers, Nel, Engelbrecht

Replacements: Venter, Lyons, Weilbach, Porter, De Villiers, Duvenage, Roche, Mars

Referee: Ludovic Cayre (Fra)

Adam Johnson made as big an impression off the ice as he did on it for the Nottingham Panthers.

The U.K. hockey team officially retired Johnson's No. 47 jersey on Saturday in tribute to the American forward who died after his neck was cut by an opponent's skate during a game over a year ago.

"Adam was a top player, but he was an even better human being," Panthers CEO Omar Pacha said at a pre-game ceremony attended by members of Johnson's family.

The Minnesota native, who briefly played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, died shortly after a collision with Sheffield Steelers defenseman Matt Petgrave in the Elite Ice Hockey League in October 2023.

Johnson, who was 29, skated with the puck into Sheffield's defensive zone. As he pivoted to move inside, Petgrave was skating toward him. Petgrave had another Panthers player in front of him and appears to have made contact. Then, Petgrave's left skate elevates as the defenseman begins to fall and the blade hits Johnson in the neck.

A man, whose name has not been released, remains under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

The Panthers announced the jersey retirement a year ago, and on Saturday made it official as Johnson's parents, brother, aunt and fiancée watched from ice level.

"Adam was genuine. He was humble, modest, down to earth and never boasted about his accomplishments," said aunt Lynn DeGrio, who spoke on behalf of the Johnson family. "He lit up a room with his little smile and quick and witty comments.

"He loved to dream about what his future was going to look like, right down to the fine details," she continued. "One thing he knew for sure is that it would include the love of his life, Ryan Wolfe. They spent hours planning the perfect life together."

Donations to a memorial account will fund a scholarship for a high school senior to attend the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where Johnson played before turning professional.

"From the first minute he stepped on the ice in Nottingham, you could tell his speed and skill was elite," Pacha told the crowd. "His hockey IQ was on another level, and he made all the players around him better."

Other general managers told Pacha he made the "signing of the summer."

"His humble nature was something unique, especially for a player with such a high pedigree," Pacha added. "Players who have played at the highest level can sometimes come with an ego, but Adam did not have this. A quiet, positive leader, a committed player that guys loved and a huge calming presence in the locker room."

Johnson was living with Wolfe and studying at Loughborough Business School before his death.

South Yorkshire Police have not determined if charges will be filed -- there could be a variety of reasons for that.

Petgrave, a 32-year-old Canadian, has not made any public statements.

The U.K.'s top league made neck guards mandatory last Jan. 1, two months after Johnson's death.

VfL Bochum's goalkeeper was struck on the head by an object apparently thrown from the stands at Union Berlin, and both Bundesliga teams left the field on Saturday. When the game resumed, they ran down the clock without trying to score.

Patrick Drewes was preparing to take a goal kick at 1-1 in added time when he was hit by an object with a similar size and shape to a cigarette lighter. He sat down and was given medical treatment.

The referee suspended the game and led the teams off the field.

Nearly half an hour later, the game resumed and Drewes was replaced by striker Philipp Hofmann. With about three minutes left in the game, both teams agreed to not try to score.

Players passed the ball around the field, walked and had conversations with opponents while waiting for the referee to declare the game over.

"Our coach and their coach, they discussed it together and the coach told us that we'll go out there and bring the game to an end, and that's what we did," Hofmann told broadcaster Sky.

He indicated more than one object had been thrown around the time of the incident. Hofmann added Drewes was being treated by Bochum staff and that he didn't know his condition.

"It's not acceptable. No matter how hard he was struck, whether he's bleeding or not, it's just not appropriate," he said.

Union are likely to face disciplinary action over their hosting of the game, and Bochum could potentially ask for the result to be changed to a 3-0 win by default.

Bochum had already made substitutions at three different points in the game, meaning it would not have been possible to bring on another goalkeeper to replace Drewes. Bochum finished the game with nine players because of Drewes' absence and an earlier red card.

Ryan Reynolds treated Wrexham's locals to an early Christmas gift on his latest trip to north Wales -- and he brought more Hollywood celebrities along for the ride.

Reynolds, who co-owns Wrexham's soccer club with Rob McElhenney, watched the team draw with Cambridge 2-2 on Saturday in the company of actor and producer Channing Tatum, who appeared in the latest "Deadpool and Wolverine" movie alongside Reynolds.

Also at the match was Brandon Sklenar, who co-starred with Reynolds' wife, Blake Lively, in romantic drama "It Ends With Us," and Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong.

The previous night, Reynolds went to a pub in the centre of Wrexham and said he would be buying a round of drinks for everyone there. He joked the pub "might be bussing in another hundred people" to benefit from his generosity.

In video footage shared on social media, Reynolds took to the microphone in the pub and said: "If I don't come visit each and every one of you tonight in your homes, I just want to say happy holidays."

He said he couldn't stay long because he wanted to make the most of his "night off" away from his children.

Reynolds and McElhenney have owned Wrexham since 2021 and have overseen the team's rise from the fifth tier of the English game. The team's notoriety has increased since the owners launched a popular fly-on-the-wall TV series, "Welcome to Wrexham."

After the draw with Cambridge, Wrexham were third in League One, two points off the lead.

Real Madrid hit out at the referee's failure to award them a penalty in the club's 3-3 LaLiga draw at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, calling it "a match they could have won."

Madrid went 2-0 down in Vallecas to early headed goals from Rayo's Unai López and Abdul Mumin, before Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham responded to make it 2-2.

Rodrygo put the visitors ahead in the second half and Isi Palazón levelled for Rayo eight minutes later, as Madrid had to settle for a draw, leaving them a point behind leaders Barcelona at the top of the table.

After the game, the LaLiga giants posted a match report headlined "Controversial refereeing denies Madrid victory" on social media and on the club's website, attacking referee Juan Martínez Munuera's decision not to award a penalty for Mumin's second-half challenge on Vinícius Júnior.

"In the 75th minute came the most controversial play of the match," the club's report said. "Vini Jr. was clearly brought down inside the area by Mumin, but Martínez Munuera did not award a penalty, neither was there any warning from [Pablo] González Fuertes, the VAR referee."

Madrid have frequently criticised the performance of referees this season, regularly broadcasting videos on the club's TV channel, Real Madrid TV, highlighting officials' mistakes.

"Seeing a replay, the penalty looked very clear to me," coach Carlo Ancelotti said in his postmatch news conference, while praising his side's overall performance.

"There are draws and there are draws. The draws with Mallorca and Las Palmas [in August] were totally different to this draw... We're on the right track."

"The Mallorca and Las Palmas draws made me nervous, but this one didn't," Ancelotti added. "I thought it would be very difficult for us to find balance and attitude [this season] but we've found it. We have the same attitude as last year, the same commitment, the same quality.

"Rodrygo came back today. [Eduardo] Camavinga came back. [David] Alaba will come back. I start 2025 with a lot of enthusiasm We're in the fight for everything."

Ancelotti pointed out that Madrid had kicked off against Rayo missing a string of first-team regulars due to injury, including Kylian Mbappé, Ferland Mendy, Éder Militão and Dani Carvajal, while Vinícius started on the bench.

"[Vinicius] didn't start because he hasn't played 90 minutes since his injury," Ancelotti said. "We preferred that he play the second half, which might be less intense. He had a good game."

Madrid are next in action on Wednesday, where they will play Pachuca in the final of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

Liverpool twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Fulham at Anfield on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League.

The Cottagers got themselves in front in the 11th minute when Andreas Pereira converted from Antonee Robinson's cross, with an effort that was helped into the goal by Andrew Robertson's block. The Scotland international featured heavily in the opening 17 minutes, but his involvement ended when he was sent off for a careless foul on Harry Wilson to deny a goal-scoring opportunity.

Liverpool maintained control of the game despite being down to 10 men, though they only created a single chance of any promise when Dominik Szoboszlai's instinctive cross found Luis Díaz, who couldn't trouble the goalkeeper.

The Reds looked improved after the restart and didn't take long to equalise as Mohamed Salah's cross found Cody Gakpo at the back post, with the Anfield crowd helping Arne Slot's side maintain momentum. Fulham got back in front when Jarell Quansah should have been stronger against Robinson before he was allowed to cut the ball back to Rodrigo Muniz.

Slot responded by introducing Diogo Jota three minutes later, and it was the Portugal international who equalised with a well-placed finish past Bernd Leno. Nine minutes of added time provided a chance for a late winner, but Díaz couldn't secure it by adding the finishing touch to a late promising attack, which was the last big moment of the game.

Positives

Liverpool showed determination after going down twice to get back level, and were the better team despite the numbers disadvantage. A performance that the Reds can take positives from.

Negatives

Chance creation in the first half had to be better, though the red card meant that Slot didn't have time until the break to properly tweak his system.

Manager rating (1-10; 10 = best)

Arne Slot, 9 -- Slot's side never lost control of the game despite going down to 10, and there were clear signs of a game plan in the second half as Liverpool began to create a regular flow of chances. Slot's booking in the 58th minute means he will now serve a touchline ban for the next Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur.

Player ratings

GK Alisson Becker 6 -- Alert to the danger and commanded his area well. There was little Alisson could have done about either goal he conceded.

DF Andrew Robertson 1 -- Seventeen minutes to forget for the Liverpool left-back saw him take a heavy challenge from Issa Diop early on, help Pereira's effort past Alisson, and then get sent off for a foul on Harry Wilson as the last defender.

DF Virgil van Dijk 7 -- Assured at the back and impressed with transitioning the ball into midfield areas to help Liverpool overcome the numbers advantage. Showed impressive awareness when defending counter-attacking phases to limit Fulham's opportunities.

DF Joe Gomez 7 -- A crucial block denied a dangerous Fulham chance with the 27-year-old getting across from left-back. Looked to support attacks by getting forward, but could have been better with his final ball when crossing into the box.

DF Trent Alexander-Arnold 7 -- Forced to work hard with a lot of Fulham counter-attacks coming down his flank and consistently pressed the right angles to deny shooting opportunities. Deployed in a midfield role later on in the match and helped Liverpool maintain control following the introduction of Darwin Núñez saw the Reds change shape.

MF Ryan Gravenberch 7 -- Deployed at centre-back when Liverpool went down to 10 and linked well with Van Dijk to help move past Fulham's initial press. Moved back into midfield and progressed the ball impressively alongside Alexander-Arnold.

MF Curtis Jones 7 -- Worked tirelessly in midfield alongside Dominik Szoboszlai and applied pressure to win back possession. Booked for an overzealous challenge on Alex Iwobi.

MF Dominik Szoboszlai 8 -- A standout for Liverpool on the day, impressing with both his work-rate to assist defensively and decision-making in the final third, where he utilised his pace to break into space before unlocking the game for the forward line.

FW Cody Gakpo 7 -- Got Liverpool back on level terms by connecting with Mohamed Salah's cross, and showed his intelligence during counter-attacks, holding up the ball to bring others into play and choosing the right moments to challenge defenders directly.

FW Luis Díaz 5 -- Booked harshly for an innocuous overhead kick attempt, but faded out of the game when Liverpool went down to 10, outside of a chance with a header that he should have done better with. Struggled to make an impact on the game overall. Should have hit his effort first time in the 94th minute.

FW Mohamed Salah 7 -- Consistently enjoyed the better of the duels against Robinson and was an out ball for Liverpool by keeping wide on the right flank. Played a significant part in getting his side back on level terms with an excellent ball to assist Gakpo for the equaliser.

Substitutes (players introduced after 70 minutes = no rating)

Darwin Núñez (Gakpo, 70") 6 -- Got into some positive central areas and pressed well from the front. Assisted Liverpool's second equaliser with a ball to Jota.

Jarell Quansah (Jones, 70") 3 -- Allowed Robinson to get past him too easily eight minutes after coming on before Fulham's second goal. A crucial error at the wrong time.

Harvey Elliott (Szoboszlai, 79") N/R -- Unlucky with a curling effort inside the box that narrowly went past the post.

Diogo Jota (Alexander-Arnold, 79") N/R -- Provided an instant spark to Liverpool's attack and capped his performance with an excellent finish to level the scoring.

LONDON -- Maybe Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and set-pieces are not enough to win the Premier League after all. Arsenal have more about them than that, of course, but much of the frustration over Saturday's 0-0 draw against Everton will likely be channelled toward the club's approach to the January transfer market.

The Gunners were not planning to spend big next month despite the sense of title possibility created by Manchester City's return to Earth. City are making it known they will back Pep Guardiola in the market as they seek to arrest their alarming decline, but Arsenal are presently of the view that only injuries or an exceptional, unexpected opportunity will push them to commit a considerable sum in January.

Mikel Arteta's first stop in this conversation is usually to point to the options he has and the internal improvements they can make. The good news there at least is that there is plenty of room for it.

Odegaard, Saka and Arsenal's set-piece prowess -- marked by a mural of specialist coach Nicolas Jover the distance of a back-post corner away from Emirates Stadium -- have proved a wonderfully potent combination of late. But they have perhaps masked the lack of game-changing options Arteta can turn to in moments like this, where a team sets up to defend and is deeply entrenched in a conservative shape.

Everton had 10 days without a game due to the postponement of last weekend's Merseyside derby and were therefore well-rested and well-drilled compared to Arsenal, who played twice more in the same period. It is an unusual imbalance that no doubt contributed to the result, but while the final 20 minutes were frantic, this was the sort of controlled chaos Arsenal are able to create at their best when chasing a game.

Too often, misplaced passes or the wrong choice in the final third disrupted the sense of momentum that Arsenal usually create to overwhelm opponents in these circumstances.

Arsenal's substitutes didn't help, and that is on both Arteta and the individuals involved. Odegaard and Declan Rice were withdrawn after 62 minutes, a voluntary decision to break up the Odegaard-Saka-Jurriën Timber right-hand side that's been their most consistent route to goal of late.

Arteta confirmed afterwards that Rice "felt something" related to an unspecified injury he has been carrying for a week, but Odegaard's substitution was purely tactical.

"With Martin it was a tactical decision to try to change their rhythm on that side," he said. "I understand. If Ethan comes in and he scores a goal, it's a great goal. If he doesn't, you have taken your captain out. That's football."

Hindsight is of course a wonderful thing, but asking a 17-year-old on his 11th Premier League appearances to replicate or improve upon the creativity of Arsenal's playmaker felt like a big gamble at the time. Seven minutes later, Arteta switched Timber to left-back as part of a double change in which Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey were introduced, before Leandro Trossard replaced Gabriel Martinelli in the final move.

The end result was unusually disjointed. Kai Havertz had a quiet afternoon, while Jesus has now not scored in his last 23 league appearances, and just once in 34 matches across all competitions. Trossard was wholly ineffective, while Raheem Sterling did not even get on despite the desperate circumstances.

A physical team defending deep in numbers is not necessarily an obvious problem for someone with Sterling's skillset to solve, but there is a troubling distance forming between the impact many hoped he would have after signing on loan from Chelsea and the ineffective fringe player he is quickly becoming. That is also perhaps a warning of how acting in the market does not always provide effective solutions. Arteta would also no doubt point to the fact Arsenal scored 91 goals last season, the highest number in their Premier League history.

"At the end, you need a spark and you need to be precise," he said. "We had the chances and this could have been 2-0 or 3-0, and [then] nobody is talking about it. "The reality is 0-0 and they are not going to talk about all the incredible things the team did in the game.

"Honestly it's difficult to ask something else from the team. OK, individually can we do things a bit better and with a little bit more quality and deliver that magic moment when it's necessary? Yes. But that is not easy."

Arsenal have delivered so many magic moments in recent months, but equally, Arsenal may soon get to the point where they feel compelled to find more stardust in the market if there are many more lacklustre days like this.