Having beaten AS Roma on Sunday, Juventus returned to Coppa Italia action against Inter Milan on Wednesday evening, and a comfortable 3-0 victory saw them firmly take control of this semi-final matchup.

The final score served as a good indication of the gulf between the two teams, with the visitors offering little attacking threat and looking woeful in midfield.

What made the result even more remarkable was that while the Nerazzurri fielded a largely first-choice side, Juve were able to rest a number of key players.

Gigi Buffon, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sami Khedira and Paulo Dybala were all left out of the starting XI, and although coach Massimiliano Allegri was careful to remain balanced, he is certainly happy with the depth of his squad.

“The most important thing is to stay level-headed and keep in mind that we haven’t achieved anything yet,” he told reporters at the post-match press conference. “We have a tough run of fixtures ahead and I know I can swap a few players in and out and still be sure that the quality of our performances won’t drop off.”

Alvaro Morata certainly benefited, with the striker netting twice to break a goal drought which stretched back to October 4 and delivering a performance that bodes well for the rest of the campaign. His importance to the side was discussed at length in this previous post, but Kwadwo Asamoah was arguably even more impressive.

Despite making only his third start of the season, the versatile left-footer slotted in seamlessly, helping the Bianconeri dominate the central area of the field as they continually overran their opponents.

Defensively solid throughout, Asamoah helped protect the back line impeccably, combining with Patrice Evra to frustrate Adem Ljajic. He was helped by the lack of attacking impetus from Inter’s midfield, where Gary Medel, Felipe Melo and Geoffrey Kondogbia were each better suited to breaking up play rather than venturing forward.

The same cannot be said of Juventus, with both Pogba and Asamoah regularly joining the attack, a smart assist from the latter eventually laying on the third goal as Dybala made a late cameo appearance.

Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com highlight just how well Asamoah performed overall, recording one tackle, one interception, one clearance and completing 91.9 percent of his 37 pass attempts. That tally included three scoring chances for his team-mates, with the Ghana international also winning two aerial duels.

After making just 10 appearances last term due to a variety of injuries, he finally seems to be back to full fitness and—speaking shortly after the recent win over Udinese—the 27-year-old revealed that he had previously doubted his future.

“There were several moments when I asked myself when I would get back playing again, because, whenever things were looking on the up, there would always be a new setback throwing my progress off course,” Asamoah told Sky Italia (h/t the official Juventus website). “Right now, though, I’m in good shape.”

Having such a high-quality back-up bodes well for the rest of the campaign, giving Juve the option of resting any of their first-choice trio, and Allegri was happy to praise the midfielder for his contribution against Inter.

“Asamoah was brilliant tonight in all aspects of his play,” the coach said at the post-match press conference. “When the team are in great form, every team selection can be difficult and it’s never easy leaving the other guys out of the side. The further we go in the cups though, the more playing time there will be for everyone.”

That will certainly be true, with the likes of Neto, Daniele Rugani and Juan Cuadrado all looking to earn more minutes on the field.

Asamoah will now join that trio, and he has proved that he can be relied upon to deliver whenever he is given a chance.

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