Marcus Rashford goal celebration against Tottenham - explained

Marcus Rashford is no stranger to celebrating goals at Old Trafford.

At the start of 2023, Rashford equalled Dennis Viollet's 64-year record of scoring in nine consecutive home games. However, before his crisp strike in Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon, Rashford's most recent goal at the Theatre of Dreams had been against a Chelsea side under the stewardship of Frank Lampard. Joao Felix even found the net for the Blues that day.

After almost eight months stewing away, Rashford would certainly have been entitled to a cathartic outpouring of emotion. Rasmus Hojlund almost pulled a muscle roaring in delight when he ended his personal drought against Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

Yet, Rashford had the clarity of thought to delivering a celebration with a deeper meaning than unbridled joy.

What celebration did Marcus Rashford do against Tottenham?

As a wild first half at Old Trafford teetered towards a reluctant finish, Rashford exchanged passes with Hojlund inside Tottenham's box. Micky van de Ven hauled his significant frame in the way but Rashford sent the ball scuttling between the Dutchman's legs and into the bottom corner.

Wheeling away towards the north east corner of the crumbling stadium, Rashford didn't crack a smile. Instead, the 26-year-old performed the universal talking gesture with his gloved hand, snapping his fingers and thumb together before dropping into a knee slide.

Rashford spent almost the entirety of 2023 celebrating each of his 21 goals by calmly pointing at his temple. The instantly iconic move - which was copied by several other professionals - hinted at the importance of being in the "right headspace". Rashford has explained in the past how his form can be greatly influenced by "other things off the pitch" and his latest celebration is a nod towards the noise invariably swirling around him.

What did Marcus Rashford's celebration against Tottenham mean?

Roy Keane doesn't need much encouragement to take umbrage with the actions of a Manchester United player. Perhaps a 50-50 tackle has been lost or there have been too many pre-game pleasantries in the tunnel. Even an ostensibly successful outcome can only produce a gruff response of: "It's his job."

When Harry Maguire cupped his ears in celebration of a goal for England against Albania in 2021, a puce Keane wrote the Manchester United defender off as "embarrassing".

And so, it should come as no surprise that Keane wasn't impressed by Rashford's flapping hand. "He's shown it before, he's got the quality," Keane sniffed on Sky Sports. "Why does he seem to be upset with everybody? He's got to go and enjoy it - he's playing for Man Utd."

A Manchester United fan account on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, suggested that Rashford's gesture was aimed at the deeply depressing abuse he received in the week leading up to Tottenham's visit. Rashford seemingly confirmed this theory by responding: "Thank you for clarifying this matter."

Two days before United clashed with Spurs, Rashford simply replied 'Yesirrrrr' to Jadon Sancho's Instagram post which signalled the winger's return to Borussia Dortmund on loan from United.

These encouraging 11 characters were warped into high treason by a sharp-tongued set of deluded keyboard warriors acting under the pretence of United fans. Rashford had been accused of supporting the club's so-called enemy.

Sancho left Old Trafford after a four-month exile from first-team activities following a public falling out with manager Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman may stubbornly insist that Sancho must apologise for effectively calling him a liar but went further than Rashford and actively wished Dortmund's loanee "the best of luck" in a press conference.

Ten Hag's assistant coach Benni McCarthy and United's left-back Luke Shaw also left positive messages under Sancho's post. Yet, as is all too often the case, Rashford absorbed the brunt of the online hate.

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