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"The international break is a problem and they were tired," Benítez said. "The pitch was very soft and they were struggling with muscle problems. A few of the players had problems and I made changes to try to keep fresh legs and to try to make sure players are fit. Gerrard is not injured, or at least not seriously. I hope he and the others will not be a doubt for Sunday but we will see.
"We will need to check on Keane tomorrow - it is his groin that is the problem. I think it is going to be very difficult for Torres to make it, though."
Keane, Liverpool's first-half goalscorer, said: "In the first half we had quite a few chances so we knew they would come out fighting and make it difficult for us. They put us under the cosh in the second half and then they had a few chances towards the end, so all in all you have to be happy with a point."
Keane missed a good opportunity to double Liverpool's lead minutes after he opened the scoring but he attempted an elaborate flick from a close-range volley and missed. "I should have had two," he said. "It's no excuse but the ball was swerving all over the place. I should have got something on it but it wasn't to be."
Simao Sabrosa scored an 83rd-minute equaliser as Atlético fought their way back into the game in the second half. And although Benítez's side are still top of their Champions League group, on seven points with the home match between these two sides still to come in a fortnight's time, the Spanish manager remained disappointed.
"If you had said to me before the game, 'You'll have seven points,' I would have said yes please, but when you have been winning for 83 minutes and had the chances we had, only to lose it, you have to look at it as two points lost," Benítez said. "We played well, I thought we had a lot of control, but they reacted in the second half.
"We had plenty of chances in front of goal and round the edge of the box and it is a shame that we didn't take them. It might have been different if we had had Torres but we didn't have him so there is no point in talking about that."
The match was marked by a series of controversial decisions. Keane scored from an offside position, but had another chance of a second ruled out when Yossi Benayoun was wrongly ruled offside. Atlético also had a goal ruled out and a one-on-one pulled back - and both times the linesman's flag went up wrongly.
There was also a penalty claim from Albert Riera but Benítez said that he had not seen the incident; similarly his counterpart, Javier Aguirre, would not be drawn on the referee.
"This gentleman next to me [the Atlético press officer] told me the decisions were wrong, as he always does," said the Mexican with a grin... "but there's no point crying about it."
Such controversy, however, could not sour the atmosphere on a night when fears about crowd trouble proved unfounded. The absence of Torres wrested much of the magic from the match, as did the cold wind that whipped through the arena, but the fans of both sides were still determined to enjoy the occasion together. When the two sides emerged from the tunnel Spanish flags filled the south stand, but red and yellow was also on display among the Liverpool fans. Drinks, songs and even sandwiches were shared in the north end of the stadium.
Before the match, supporters from both clubs had met on the Toledo Bridge and made their way to the ground together. At Casa Angel, and down along Melancholic's Way on the walk to the stadium, fans joined forces in renditions of Y Viva España and, of course, gloried in the absent Torres, the man around whom this tie had been built, until his injury. Together they chanted his name, and that of Luis García at the final whistle. When Gerrard was withdrawn, he was given a generous ovation by the home fans.