A tough spell for the Juventus captain, who found himself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons after missing a penalty against Sassuolo These are bitter moments for Manuel Locatelli following the 1-1 draw between Juventus and Sassuolo: the Bianconeri captain missed a decisive penalty in the closing stages, costing his side two crucial points in the race for Champions League qualification.The midfielder immediately took responsibility for the mistake: confident in his decision at the time, he was then deeply shaken at having squandered a decisive opportunity. “He was devastated by the result,” reports Tuttosport, precisely because he was aware of having squandered a monumental opportunity. For Juve’s number 5, Sunday was spent in silence, away from social media — where criticism was not in short supply — and with his family.However, there was no shortage of support from the dressing room: from Perin to Pinsoglio, right through to Gatti, Vlahovic and Yildiz, the whole team rallied round their captain. Luciano Spalletti also showed his solidarity, having publicly defended him and reiterated his support in private: there is total unity within the squad.The international break could provide an opportunity to turn the page. Locatelli is expected to play a key role for Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy in the World Cup play-off semi-final against Northern Ireland and then, hopefully, in the final against Wales or Bosnia: an important chance to bounce back and confirm the central role he has also secured for the Azzurri.WHATSAPP: All the updates in real time! Join the CALCIOMERCATO.COM WhatsApp channel: click hereAdd GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting