With a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal, Manchester United secured a place at Wembley Way.

Only a miracle turnaround in the second leg, which is scheduled for next week, can prevent United from playing in the League Cup final at the national stadium next month after goals from Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst, and Bruno Fernandes in the first half and a late third at the City Ground.

Rashford's goal, which he scored after sprinting 50 yards, Weghorst's first goal for the team since joining on loan from Burnley, and Fernandes' decisive late goal effectively ended the tie.

With the victory, United is poised to play in its first domestic championship game at Wembley since losing the 2018 FA Cup final, and Erik ten Hag will have the opportunity to end the team's trophy drought, which dates back to 2017, in his first season at Old Trafford.

With four titles won in 12 years under Brian Clough, Forest has a history in the League Cup that is almost as extensive as United's. Forest will view this as a squandered opportunity to head to Old Trafford next week with something to grasp onto.

Sam Surridge had a goal disallowed in the first half, and Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson also had good opportunities.

However, Ten Hag's team easily won on the Trent River's banks and will mark February 26 on their calendars for a trip to Wembley, while Forest will need to channel their late manager Clough in the hopes of a miracle.

The two teams memorably faced off in the 1992 League Cup final at Wembley, which United won on the strength of a goal from Brian McClair. The current crop of players demonstrated their desire to return there this year.

Rashford continued his stellar form with a spectacular individual goal, and Ten Hag was rewarded for selecting his strongest team possible with an early lead.

It was his 10th goal in 10 games since the resumption after the World Cup and his form has been the driving force behind United’s impressive run of results.

There were more goals for the taking in a dominant start for the visitors but Antony twice drifted shots wide of the post from good positions after cutting in from the right.

Forest had been overrun in the opening 15 minutes but they came to life and thought they had levelled in the 23rd minute.

A brilliant counter-attack saw Gibbs-White feed Sam Surridge, who produced a fine first-time finish into the bottom corner.

However, it was ruled out after VAR found Surridge’s knee to be offside.

Forest to their credit did not let that disappointment affect them and they continued to push forward and had chances for an equaliser.

David de Gea produced a flying save to keep out Gustavo Scarpa’s volley from the edge of the area, then got down well to stop a Gibbs-White effort before watching Johnson fire over after gliding past a couple of United tackles.

Having soaked up that pressure, United got a killer second goal on the stroke of half-time.

They expertly manoeuvred the ball from back to front and, after Hennessey palmed out Antony’s shot, Weghorst reacted first to fire home the rebound and break his United duck.

The hosts struggled to recreate the verve they showed in the first half and United kept them at arm’s length.

Indeed, it was the visitors, who won 8-1 on their last visit to the City Ground in 1999, who strengthened their grip on the tie.

Christian Eriksen had earlier hit the crossbar before Fernandes drilled home a low finish in the 89th minute, with ecstatic United supporters appearing to fall through a broken hoarding during the celebrations.