Hunting a record 24th semi-final in this glittering competition, Real Madrid had wasted little time in flooding through the many holes in Galatasaray's defence, cruising to a two-goal lead within half-an-hour.
Mesut Özil, the son of Turkish gastarbeiters in Germany, was darting all over, dribbling the ball into dangerous areas. Ronaldo, released by a gem of a pass from Özil, scored.
So did Benzema and it could have been more such was the porous nature of the Turkish defence. Their centre-half Dany Nounkeu even swapped shirts with Benzema as they went off at half-time.
Benzema had been picked to start ahead of Gonzalo Higuain and Mourinho's judgment was vindicated. Real's coach was also rewarded for his decision to select Michael Essien at right-back ahead of Alvaro Arbeloa; Essien kept driving down the flank, even creating Benzema's goal. Given Chelsea's number of games currently they must regret allowing Essien to leave on loan.
The first half could hardly have gone better for Mourinho. Benzema even escaped an accidental raised foot on Semih Kaya, the type that had seen Nani dismissed at Old Trafford against Real.
The game had actually started frantically, responding to the noise on the terraces mainly emanating from the Galatasaray supporters, who seemed to have tickets all over the Bernabeu.
Galatasaray were looking to work the ball to Wesley Sneijder, Mourinho's old Inter Milan schemer, and on to Didier Drogba and Burak Yilmaz. Sami Khedira and Xabi Alonso began cutting off those supply lines.
Real took the ball and took control. Angel di Maria dribbled across midfield; moments later, he dinked the ball in but Benzema headed over.
Özil was linking midfield and attack well. Ronaldo was eyeing up the space behind Emmanuel Eboue. Galatasaray's defence hardly looked the strongest, and Semih Kaya was fortunate that Benzema did not make him pay when the centre-half gifted him the ball.
Real did not need long to score. After nine minutes, Özil's skill and vision created Ronaldo's ninth goal of this Champions League campaign. Ronaldo controlled Özil's pass and calmly lifted the ball over Fernando Muslera.
It was his 18th goal in 16 Champions League games and 106 th in 94 appearances in all competitions for Real at the Bernabeu. Lionel Messi scores one night, Ronaldo responds.
Galatasaray were so open, a result of Fatih Terim's commitment to attack. They almost equalised. Hamit Altintop exchanged passes with Drogba but shot wide.
Their defence was so vulnerable to the sort of precise, quick counter-attacks that Madrid specialise in. Ronaldo attempted to return the compliment to Özil, finding the German with a pass but Özil's shot was held by Muslera.
After 29 minutes, Muslera was beaten for a second time, again left exposed by his defence. Essien crossed from the right, Ronaldo missed but Galatasaray's defence hesitated and Benzema fired in at the fire-post. The Turkish fans were quietened momentarily, before sounding the drums again and lighting eight flares.
Madrid were in control, comfortably withstanding occasional Galatasaray attacks. When Drogba crossed, Burak Yilmaz shot wide. Eboue shot straight at Diego Lopez.
Even when Galatasaray threatened, Raphael Varane was on hand to shepherd the ball away or Alonso and Sami Khedira were back covering.
Mourinho's drilling shone through Real's movements. When Drogba was knocked over, staying down for a few seconds, a few Real fans targeted him with some particularly vile abuse. Segregation in the stands was an issue at times with security moving Galatasaray fans around.
Their rhythm section up in the Gods would not be silenced. "Cim bom bom" was frequently heard. The song remained the same on the pitch: Hala Madrid.
Terim tried to break Real's stranglehold. He switched at the break, withdrawing the anonymous Schneider, sending on Gokhan Zan and realigning the team as 3-5-2.
Real remained in charge. Even when Galatasaray worked the ball towards Drogba, the excellent Varane intervened. Real went looking for a third to give them greater security in Istanbul. Muslera saved shots from Ronaldo and then Di Maria.
Mourinho's magic continued to work. He removed Benzema and sent on Higuain, who promptly scored. Again, Galatasaray's deficiencies played a part; their pursuit of the ball rarely looked an exact science.
Drogba fouled Sergio Ramos, presenting Xabi Alonso with a free-kick. Again, Alonso's technical expertise was seen, the ball transferred towards the penalty spot. Again, Turkish marking was absent, allowing Higuain to flick a header past Muslera.
The Bernabeu crowd was sitting back and admiring, some climbing to their feet to applaud Özil and then Di Maria as Mourinho closed out the game.
Drogba had a chance with a late free-kick to inject more life into the second leg but his strike could not clear the wall. Madrid were too formidable. This was almost too easy.
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