McIlroy, who famously scored for the Reds in the 1979 FA Cup final, was at Old Trafford on Sunday to help commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Munich plane crash that claimed the lives of eight of the Busby Babes.

And despite fears that sections of the crowd may attempt to ruin the tribute, the silence was observed impeccably by fans inside the ground.

"It's been unbelievable," McIlroy told the Lancashire Evening Post.

"The minute's silence was impeccable and to see the old kit, with numbers one to 11, it really brought it all back.

"The blue and the red, with the fans' scarves, was fantastic. It set everything off.

"And the TV and media did a fantastic job with the tributes."

Darius Vassell and new boy Benjani Mwaruwari scored first-half goals for City and United's only reply was in injury-time from Michael Carrick.

This ended United's 13-match winning streak, their best run in 103 years, and gave Arsenal a real boost at the top of the table.

"The only bad part of the day was how United played," said Morecambe boss McIlroy.

"City deserved their win, United just didn't get going."

Sunday's Manchester derby was the climax of a number of events to remember the crash on February 6 1958, when 23 people were killed.