Steven Gerrard scored twice in his 100th European game, Fernando Torres marked his return from injury with the opener against the team he loves to hate and Andrea Dossena claimed his first goal in a red shirt as Liverpool sauntered to a 4-0 win against the Spanish champions. It was Real's heaviest Champions League defeat and secured a resounding 5-0 aggregate victory.
Liverpool may be maddeningly inconsistent in the Barclays Premier League, but they remain formidable in Europe and no one will want to be paired with them when the draw for the quarter-finals is made in Nyon, Switzerland, a week on Friday.
It was the perfect fillip before the crucial visit to Old Trafford on Saturday. Trailing Manchester United, the leaders, by seven points and having played a game more, Liverpool must win if they are to have any realistic chance of ending their 19-year wait for the title.
"That was as good as we have played all season," Gerrard, who was afforded a standing ovation even by the Real supporters when he was substituted, said. "We were awesome for the first 30 minutes and the job was done by half-time. The most important thing was to win and book a place in the last eight, but it was a fantastic team performance. We will get some treatment for knocks and bruises and then concentrate on United. They are a fantastic team but we have every confidence after tonight that we will go and give it our best shot."
Torres, who had missed Liverpool's previous two league matches with a twisted ankle and played despite having his foot heavily bandaged, said: "There was no risk. I had been planning all week to play in this one. It was very important to play against Real given my past with Atlético Madrid. Pain doesn't matter in games like this — goals are more important to me. It was massive for the fans." He celebrated his goal pointedly in front of the visiting fans.
This was also another personal triumph for Benítez. The Liverpool manager's future remains uncertain, with the Spaniard stalling on signing a new four-year contract, but he further enhanced his credentials. Waving to the crowd as they chanted his name, Benítez will only have strengthened Real's desire to lure him to the Bernabéu in the summer.
The only sour note was a yellow card for Javier Mascherano that will rule the Argentina midfield player out of the first leg of Liverpool's quarter-final.
Chelsea booked their place in the last eight courtesy of a thrilling 2-2 draw with Juventus in Turin to go through 3-2 on aggregate. Guus Hiddink's side twice fell behind but showed great resolve to equalise through Michael Essien and Didier Drogba.
"This draw is like a victory," Drogba said. "When they scored it really helped us — we decided to play our game."