Mohamed Salah's away goal early in the second half, and Liverpool's comeback from a more desperate situation against Barcelona in 2019, should serve as warnings against complacency.
Soldado would have liked another go in England but after Villarreal came Fenerbahce, and then offers from clubs that might have paid him more than Granada, but given less.
Liverpool face Madrid in Spain later on Tuesday before next week's return fixture at Anfield, where the Merseyside club have struggled in the Premier League this season, with matches taking place without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Benitez, who managed Liverpool from 2004 to 2010 and had a short spell at Madrid, said it was crucial the English side get a goal in the first leg.
Asensio finally gave Madrid the lead late in the 41st minute after his side had two goals ruled out for offside, latching on to a Casemiro through ball and curling his effort into the bottom corner despite losing his footing as he took the shot.
Real then had a goal ruled out for offside for the third time but eventually got the all-important second goal when Benzema headed home a cross from Vinicius Jr. in the 73rd minute.
Central defender Ramos picked up a calf injury while doing warm-down exercises with Spain after their 3-1 victory over Kosovo on Wednesday. He came on as an 86th-minute substitute in the World Cup qualifier.
The 35-year-old looks set to be absent for both legs of the upcoming Champions League quarter-final meeting with Liverpool, as well as next Saturday's Clasico against Barcelona.
The first leg will take place on April 7 at Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan with the return fixture scheduled for April 13. The prize for the winners will be a clash with Real Madrid or Liverpool.
Spain said earlier this month it would lift a ban on travel from Britain on March 30. The ban had started in December, over concerns about a British strain of the new coronavirus.
Luis Muriel scored a consolation goal for Atalanta just before Asensio added the third to confirm Madrid's presence in the draw for the last eight on March 19.
Real coach Zinedine Zidane said Atletico had bossed the first half while his side had edged the second and his team still firmly believed they were in the race.
"In the first half we were flat," said Simeone. "In the second we created a lot of chances, Suarez hit the post -- there was a lot of positives to take."
French national soccer federation president Noel Le Graet said in a Saturday interview with French radio network RTL that Zidane would be his number one candidate to succeed Didier Deschamps.
We'll see but right now my mind is focused on here. I'm the Real Madrid coach and I enjoy every day of it.
Bale's return to Spurs on loan from Real Madrid has been an anti-climax with the Welshman barely featuring in the Premier League because of injuries and lack of match fitness.
I have to admit that his post created something that needed to be addressed because there was a contradiction between the post and the reality.
"I don't know if we'll use it again because we have to adapt to whatever situation we find ourselves in, but we did well and I'm happy for the players because what they did today was not easy."
*It's great that we've secured Martin to come to us until the end of the season.
* Martin will provide us with quality offensive options and we're all excited to be integrating him into our plans between now and May.
The Catalans have endured an inconsistent season so far, losing four times already in the league, and sit six points off pacesetters Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad and Real Madrid.
His game was perhaps best summed up when, into the final 10 minutes with his team comfortably leading, Ronaldo tracked back and dispossessed Messi inside the Juve box before leading the charge on a counter-attack.
Robben's much anticipated return to his home town club FC Groningen has proven a disappointment as he has played just 44 minutes in two appearances in the Dutch league this season.