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Arsene Wenger's team exits the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the third consecutive year despite a famous win at the home of last season's runner-up

 MUNICH -- Arsenal exited the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the third consecutive year despite beating Bayern Munich 2-0 in the second leg.

Olivier Giroud stunned the 68,000 sell-out Allianz Arena with a third-minute goal to give the visitors hope of pulling off a Munich miracle.

Despite Bayern dominating for most of the match, Arsenal held firm at the back and Laurent Koscielny’s 84th-minute header equaled the scores on aggregate.

Sergio Busquests says he was proud to have taken part of in 'one of the great comebacks' during Barcelona's 4-0 win over AC Milan.

The Catalans trailed the Rossoneri 2-0 from the first leg, but were able to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League thanks to a superb Camp Nou showing on Tuesday.

"I am so proud to have been part of one of the great comebacks," he told the club's official website.

"It was one of the best games I've experienced. It was the day and the match that we needed. We have been unlucky when seeking other comebacks.

"I have always thought that those are the greatest things and now we can say that we got one too."

Galatasaray striker Didier Drogba says that he would like to face Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Fatih Terim's side will be in Friday's draw after overcoming Schalke 4-3 on aggregate and the former Marseille forward has said he would like the challenge of facing his old club's arch-rivals.

"PSG? Why not? It would be a good challenge and it would be a nod to Marseille," he told reporters.

"We must be ambitious and dream of the Champions League. With Chelsea, I won it once, but it was not enough. I want to touch the cup, but it is still far away.

"We will try to do our best. If we could avoid all the teams and go directly to the final, it would be perfect."

Barcelona will be without Xavi for Saturday's La Liga clash with Rayo Vallecano after the midfielder picked up a thigh strain.

The 33-year-old featured for the entirety of the club's 4-0 Champions League last-16 victory over AC Milan on Tuesday but felt discomfort in his right leg in the aftermath of proceedings at Camp Nou.

He underwent tests on Wednesday to determine the full extent of the setback, and they showed an inflammation of the World Cup winner's biceps femoris muscle.

Xavi had only just returned from a hamstring injury - which threw his availability for the European encounter with the Rossoneri into doubt - and must now sit out the visit of the capital club this weekend.

Manchester United will spend 500,000 pounds in the off-season to re-lay their worn-out Old Trafford pitch.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has requested new grass after the current turf became sunken and boggy during the course of the season, particularly over the Christmas period.

United have already spent around 500,000 pounds in recent years trying to keep their existing pitch in good shape, including patchwork repairs over the last few months.

A hybrid pitch - made up of synthetics and grass - will be installed by Dutch company Desso the day after United's final home match of the campaign against Swansea on May 12 and will take two-and-a-half months to bed in.

Chelsea must overcome a deficit in the second leg if they to progress to the Europa League quarter-finals, while Inter Milan need a miracle.

Inter suffered a 3-0 defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur in their first leg, with in-form star Gareth Bale the chief destroyer again, re-living the memories of his Stadio Giuseppe Meazza hat-trick in 2010.

The Italian side have struggled in Serie A this season, sitting fifth in the table, and it is going to take a huge effort from them to get back in the tie and deny Tottenham an away goal, particularly with Bale in such lethal form.

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud says an early goal against Bayern Munich is key to possibly securing a Champions League quarter-final berth on Wednesday night.

The Gunners travel to the Allianz Arena with a 3-1 first-leg deficit to overturn against a team unbeaten since October and victorious in all European home games this season, knowing a two-goal home leg defeat has never been reversed in the competition’s history.

Giroud, however, is upbeat regarding Arsenal’s chances and believes the Bavarians' style of football will suit his game and boost his chances of scoring.

"We need to score an early goal. In football you never know. We need to believe and stay focused," Giroud told German magazine Kicker.