The most intriguing storylines of the Champions League semifinals

Barcelona is gone … but life goes on.

The four remaining UEFA Champions League contenders were drawn into their semifinal matchups on Friday. Manchester City will face Real Madrid at home on April 26 and away on May 4. Atletico Madrid plays host to Bayern Munich on April 27 with the return fixture set for May 3.

[ Play Daily Fantasy Soccer | Champions League scores and schedule ]

This sets up a potential rematch of the 2013-14 final, when Real beat Atletico 4-1 in the final, but not until Sergio Ramos had scored a game-saving equalizer in the 93rd minute, foretelling Real's 10th European title.

But other storylines will be prominent in the semis.

Manchester City, in easily its deepest ever run in the old continent's elite club competition, is still managed by Manuel Pellegrini. In the 2009-10 season, the lame-duck City head coach – whose replacement for this summer, Pep Guardiola, has already been lined up – managed Real to a club record 96 points in La Liga. Pellegrini's Real played good soccer and scored the second-most goals in club history, yet the club's controversial president Florentino Perez fired him anyway because Barcelona had amassed an unfathomable 99 points and won the league.

Now comes Pellegrini's opportunity to avenge his wrongheaded dismissal. So too presents itself a chance to further salt the earth for Guardiola. It was announced back on Feb. 1 that the Spanish boy wonder manager would be usurping the Chilean by season's end. But by setting the European bar high for his successor, Pellegrini can cement a legacy and make a point about yet another awkward sacking.

Guardiola, meanwhile, faces Barca-slayers Atletico. In his third season in Bavaria, he still hasn't won the Champions League, something his last pre-fired predecessor Jupp Heynckes did manage in his final season. While Bayern will have won the league three times under Guardiola and displayed some sparkling attacking play, his mission in Germany will have failed without another European crown. And he faces a team almost tailor-made to stop his.

Bayern Munich, of course, is built largely in the image of Barcelona, the club Guardiola brought back to the top of the pile. But Diego Simeone and his Mattress Makers so expertly and cunningly eliminated Barca in the quarterfinals with their resolute defense and lightning-quick counterattacks that it should give Pep sleepless nights.

As for the Madrid clubs, Real looks to salvage a season that will yield little else. The Blancos trail Barcelona and Atletico in the league and are unlikely to close the gap. And the Copa del Rey is long gone – Real was disqualified in the first round for fielding an ineligible player. Atleti, meanwhile, seem like they are once again playing with house money, thriving in a tournament they should logically have no business competing in, given the economic disparity with their Spanish rivals and others. Yet here they are once again, two seasons after winning La Liga, on the cusp of further glory.

Meanwhile, in the Europa League, Cinderella story Liverpool was pitted against Villarreal and Shakthar Donetsk will face Sevilla, with the contests taking place on April 28 and May 5.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.

Related Content: