An intriguing yet ultimately fruitless afternoon's play confirmed that United no longer pack the killer punch they used to knock opponents out with and that Liverpool are still some way off fighting for the Championship belt.
For a fixture of such fiery history the opening half hour was remarkably low key, as both sides seemed reluctant to commit too many men forward as they played neat and tidy football in their respective halves of the pitch.
Peter Crouch was a constant menace in a cagey opening, causing Rio Ferdinand no end of problems with his aerial prowess and impressive hold up play.
The gangly centre forward gave another reminder of his England credentials with a skilful display at the focal point of the Reds' attack.
But for all the headers he won the ex-Southampton man suffered from a chronic lack of support as Benitez's preferred 4-5-1 system left only the hugely frustrating Luis Garcia anywhere near him.
With half an hour gone United's impressive build-up play created the first chance of the game. A neat interchange between Wayne Rooney, Alan Smith and Roy Keane set up John O'Shea on the right wing. But his wickedly whipped cross just eluded Rooney at the near post and curled away to safety.
That proved the catalyst for a spirited mini-revival by Liverpool.
Crouch continued to maul Ferdinand and Silvestre and the Reds finally seemed to heed Benitez's cries from the side line and maintained a sustained period of possession.
But as with United, their purposeful and sprightly passing did not amount to much.
Garcia's pot shot from 35 yards, when a square ball to John Arne Riise would have been far more dangerous, was probably the highlight and was easily blocked by a dogged United defence.
Minutes before half-time the breakthrough almost came from a most unlikely source. Ferdinand, tired of his abuse at the hands of Crouch and his side's inability to breakdown a solid Liverpool back line, burst out of defence and flicked a majestic ball through to Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The angle and distance from goal did not favour the Dutchman but as he pulled wide to the right hand side of the box, his delicate ship looked for a moment as if it would beat a desperate Reina before finally nestling on top of the net.
In the second half Liverpool played with the kind of verve the home fans had expected from the start.
Crouch, tired of flicking it on for his team-mates, created his own chance, neatly chesting down and beating Silvestre, before tamely hitting a side-footed volley into the arms of Edwin Van der Sar.
Steven Gerrard went close minutes later, heading a Riise cross inches over after playing the Norwegian in with an incisive ball inside the full-back.
This was Liverpool's best period of the game and but for two last-gasp interceptions by Keane, the hosts could have tested Van der Sar still further.
After 66 minutes the Kop got a glimpse of what they had all been waiting for. The pitch opened up as Liverpool broke from defence and with his first clear sight of goal Gerrard let fly from 30 yards.
Only a powerful parry from the impressive Van der Sar kept his piledriver from breaking the back of the net.
Crouch departed with a little over ten minutes to play, as Benitez finally decided to test out a battle-weary United defence with Djibril Cisse's pace.
Liverpool continued to carve out the better chances and seemed more determined to push for the win.
Gerrard's teasing dribble and cross with minutes to go was flicked goalwards by the enigmatic Garcia, but as the Kopites rose off their seats in expectation his purposeful header flashed inches wide.
In stoppage-time United momentarily rediscovered their attacking inclinations. Van Nistelrooy's incisive square pass was picked up by Ronaldo, who darted inside subsitute Djimi Traore but was then felled by the big Frenchman.
From the resultant free-kick Ryan Giggs floated a lazy effort high over the bar, which summed up the entire game.
United seemed far too happy to settle for a point from half-time onwards. Ferguson's time-wasting substitution in the final three minutes evidence of his desperation not to fall too far behind Chelsea.
A solid point was better than risking going away empty-handed.
Liverpool played with more attacking purpose and created the better chances and on the balance of play perhaps just deserved to win on points.
Neither team managed to break down to seemingly impenetrable defences despite some tidy play in and around the box.
A similar display by both may be good enough to scrape a point against Chelsea's Champion's elect in the months to come. But with the defending champions rolling over everything in their path, it may not be enough to mount a serious challenge, or even close the gap, to Moruinho's heavyweights.