Is it actually possible to outplay a 'big' team?

Genuine question here. I've found on the last few games now that no matter who I am and no matter what tactic I play, i'm always outplayed. Doesn't necessarily mean I lose all the time, but for the most part I find myself having next to nothing of the ball. The only time I see a slight difference is if the opposition gets a red card.

I'm currently Barcelona, managed to sign Cesc Fabregas and Sergio Aguero over the last 2-3 seasons now, and even with them in my squad i'm still being swept aside by Real Madrid. Very irritating. I've almost become a flat track bully by beating all the other teams to make up for those performances.

Anyone else have a similar problem or is it just me?

I know what you're saying, sometimes it feels like you see nothing of the ball

Next time you're playing, have a look at when you're losing the ball. The most common instances of losing posession are:

1. Goalkeepers goalkicks and the opposition winning the headers in Midfield, which happens often with Barcelona since they've a small and weak midfield. Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas aren't ideal at winning balls in the air, so you might want to try and find a tall good header of the ball in midfield to mix things up a bit.

2. Midfielders/Forwards losing posession to the oppositions tackles. Again, Barcelonas attack and midfield is small and weak, so up against the likes of Milan with Flamini, Ambrosini and Gattuso your midfield will lose some tackles and the opposition will counter-attack. Strength obviously plays a part in holding off a opposing player, but for players like Messi and Ribery, they use their flair and pace to beat a man instead of relying on holding him off.

3. Fullbacks hitting long balls down the line to the wingers. You'll see many a time where the fullback hits a longball downfield to the winger and sometimes he won't reach it or he'll be tackled when he does. Try asking your fullbacks to run with the ball and perhaps adding your wingers as Targetmen, with Targetman instruction to feet?

4. Hopeful throughballs to the attack. Only players with exceptional passing and creativity should be spotting passes and playing through balls. Make sure only the likes of Xavi and Iniesta are doing this.

5. Goalkeeper distribution. If the Goalie comes out to collect a looseball, makes sure his instruction is to throw it short to a defender, preferably a centreback so he can reach Xavi and Iniesta easier and they can plan the attack.

I play as Barcelona too, and i brought in Mascherano for £44m, Bolzoni for £12m and Lorik Cana for £18m to add some steel to the 4-3-3 formation i play. It's made a massive difference in the posession and tackle success

I've beaten Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea in my second season managing Wolves in their own stadiums. I dominated the game against Arsenal and Manchester United and I mean really dominated, I check the motivation of my players pretty often and when I saw about my CM 'Bossing the midfield' I was surprised. So personally I'd say you can outplay big teams.

Also on my Barcelona save I own Real Madrid pretty much every time I play against them. In the 6 seasons I've played that save they only managed to beat me 3 times and snatch a draw 4 times and I've played them almost 5 times each season.

Games against big reputation clubs "usually" require a bigger level of micro tactical management - but it's definitely possibly to outplay them.

I've ran rings around Madrid, Barca, Chelsea with my current Benfica team, with varying scorelines. In my experience, having physical strength in the midfield will really strongly help.

Yeah its defo possible. Maybe not at first but certainly from my 2nd season onwards, once i have my players and have worked on a tactic and tweaked it i can usually boss them. Sometimes it doesnt correlate with the result like, i find i can boss them but lose or concede goals when they ave maybe just 1 or 2 shots against me. I cant argue it as players that play for the top teams are quality and can do that to you.

It's all about your tactics. My Man city team has just thrashed Chelsea 4-0 and I mean Thrashed. I have found that by giving individual instructions on the other teams players, that my team plays much better and is now winning the big games. I know everyone will say well Man city you can buy who ever you like but I play my game by only buying scouted players and not being ripped off just because we have money.An example is that after 4 seasons, I still have Ched Evans playing for me beacause he regullaly scores 25 goals per season.

It's all about your tactics. My Man city team has just thrashed Chelsea 4-0 and I mean Thrashed. I have found that by giving individual instructions on the other teams players, that my team plays much better and is now winning the big games. I know everyone will say well Man city you can buy who ever you like but I play my game by only buying scouted players and not being ripped off just because we have money.An example is that after 4 seasons, I still have Ched Evans playing for me beacause he regullaly scores 25 goals per season.

Agreed . Its one of my guilty pleasures in the game, just because i may have money at a club im managing doesnt mean i'll throw it about. I always try and get the best squad possible, on the lowest wages possible and pay out the lowest fees i can get away with. I like having a strong control on my finances, most teams i take over i sell the highest earners and replace them with equal quality at half the price.

Agreed but you still need a couple of worldclass players in your team. I paid 45 million for a top midfield player on £105,000 a week but it is worth it as he bosses the midfield and sets the tone for the team.

it is possible, i have twice played milan with my juventus team and bossed the game so much milan never had a SHOT on my goal mwhaha

I dont think Juventus against Milan counts, i think the OP is meaning small clubs vs big clubs

I dont think Juventus against Milan counts, i think the OP is meaning small clubs vs big clubs

the OP is playing as Barcelona and he's struggling against Real Madrid

To be honest I find it easier to thrash the big teams rather than the small teams. I regularly win games against Real Madrid, Arsenal, Man Utd etc by more than 4 goals, but then can only draw or narrowly win against teams like Sheffield Utd.

that seems to be one of my problems as well. stupid small teams playing "defend for you life" football