The corner of Manchester that's forever Hollywood as Tom Cruise and Robert Duvall make appearance

Actors among array of celebrities in attendance to watch Manchester United beat Manchester City

Tom Cruise and Robert Duvall at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester yesterday (Getty Images)

The hottest celebrity ticket this weekend wasn't for any concert, gala dinner or the X-Factor final, but surprisingly for the Manchester derby.

The football fans outside the Etihad Stadium looked excited enough with the presence of perennially warring musical brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, who arrived separately, and the Stone Roses' bass player, Mani.

But it was the arrival of Tom Cruise and Robert Duvall that really got the crowd outside into a spin. The pair are in town to promote their new film Jack Reacher, and it gave them a chance to sign autographs and pose for photographs with fans and club staff.

In an interview on Sky, Cruise said that he had been following the game "since the Eighties", but that this was his first match on British soil. He didn't appear to be supporting either side – perhaps watchful of upsetting half the city – but he is friends with former United poster boy, David Beckham.

"He wishes he was here," said Cruise of Beckham. "I got an email from him, he's jealous that I'm here."

Duvall, for his part, seemed less knowledgeable about the spectacle he was about to see.

"Will there be a shootout today?" he asked. "No. If it's a tie? No."

Elsewhere, the numbers of celebrity football fans continued to grow this weekend. On Saturday, chef Raymond Blanc was in north London to watch Arsenal, while comic Miranda Hart was at Blue Square Bet Premier side, Luton Town.