The two top-four hopefuls cancelled each other out in a disappointing stalemate which allowed Tottenham Hotspur - who won 3-0 at Wigan Athletic - to leapfrog both of them into fourth place.
- Man City 1-1 Liverpool
Speaking afterwards, a disappointed Benitez conceded that the point apiece was not what either side needed at a pivotal period in the season.
"I don't think the result is good for anyone," he said. "We both wanted to win and I have to think about the positives.
"We were strong, we did well and we have two players coming back. That is all you can say after the game."
The Reds welcomed back Yossi Benayoun and Fernando Torres from injury and Benitez claimed a late incident involving the Israel midfielder and City defender Victor Kompany should have resulted in a penalty.
"I felt today both teams were defending well and were well organised, but the incident with Yossi could also have been different," he added.
"Yossi felt he could have had a penalty. He was trying to continue, you cannot blame the player.
"He was trying to go forward to score. But we can be talking this for a while, you can say too much."
Source: DSG
