Marcus Rashford celebration: why does Man Utd star point to his head? Premier League goals this season

Marcus Rashford has been on unstoppable form this season and has 24 goals for his club this season and has now topped his highest tally of goals for Manchester United in a single season.

Rashford started Sunday’s Premier League game against Leicester and scored in the 25th minute, breaking away from the defence to receive a pass from Bruno Fernandes. The 25-year-old then completed a brace by collecting a long pass to get one-on-one with Danny Ward and calmly strike the ball passed the Foxes goalkeeper.

The England international was substituted in the 69th minute with Anthony Elanga coming on in his place. He now has 24 goals in just 36 games so far this season. As his goals become increasingly more frequent, fans have been pondering over Rashford’s goal celebration and speculation is growing as to whether there is a deeper meaning behind the actions.

Here is all you need to know about Rashford’s celebration and his goal-scoring record...

What is Rashford’s celebration?

After scoring, Rashford has taken to standing still and pointing to his temple, sometimes with his eyes closed. The Red Devils star has not confirmed why he celebrates this way but there is speculation that it is a nod to his recent mental health struggles and how focusing on that has now become the priority.

In October, Rashford admitted he had been struggling last season and said: “It’s a completely different energy around the club and the training ground.

“That puts me in a better headspace and I just feel really motivated now. That’s the area I was struggling in. I was struggling at times with more mental things. It wasn’t really my own performance but other things off the pitch. That’s the biggest difference from last season.

“Too often last season, I wasn’t in the right headspace for games. I wasn’t surprised by some of the stuff that was happening.”

Others have also followed suit with this celebration and Erling Haaland was the latest to place his fingers to his temples when he put a dent in Arsenal’s title hopes on 15 February.

What is Rashford’s goal tally this season?

So far, Rashford has 14 goals in the Premier League this season, four in the Europa League, five in the Carabao Cup and one in the FA Cup. He also has eight assists across all competitions, only four away from his best figures for a season which was 12 in 2019/20.

Rashford’s top five goalscoring season:

• 2022/23: 24 goals in 36 games so far
• 2019/20: 22 goals in 44 games
• 2021/21: 21 goals in 57 games
• 2018/29: 13 goals in 47 games
• 2017/18: 13 goals in 52 games

When are Manchester United’s next fixtures?

Manchester United will play their return Europa League leg on Thursday in a bid to reach the final 16 of the competition. They will host Barcelona at Old Trafford and the two sides are currently 2-2 on aggregate. The fixture will kick-off at 8pm GMT.

Erik ten Hag’s squad will then play Newcastle in the EFL Cup final on Sunday 26 February at 4.30pm at Wembley Stadium.