Always The Same Loss

[Stridr44]

Hello,

I am having a problem in FM19 at the moment. I am playing with a small team, but have managed to get great results in the league. However, there has been an ongoing issue, with almost every game I play. No matter what tactic I use, I almost always concede to either free kicks, corners, and/or when the opponent crosses the ball to another opponent in the penalty box, then proceeding to score from either a header or kick/volley. For the league games, this isn't much of an issue, as the opposition usually doesn't score to begin with, or I score more goals than them. However, against bigger teams (mainly in the champions cup), this is a big issue. It doesn't happen all the time against bigger teams, but half of the time against larger teams I lose due to these set pieces and/or crosses. For a start, I tried stopping the free kick goals by tuning down on the tackling in the opposition instructions, and it worked, however, the opposition just scored from corners and crosses instead, like before.

What should I do to stop these issues in order to start winning matches against these larger teams?

Thanks.

[herne79]

Welcome to the forum .

Have you tried adjusting your training to focus more on defending set pieces?  Or set up defensive set piece routines?

[Haiku]

I created a very succesful training regime, where I heavily train my players on defending and attacking set pieces( I have 5 set piece trainings spread over the week) and the results are great! Although my team is one of the shortest in average, I'm toping the charts for goals scored and less goals conseived from set pieces. Trainings definitely help improving your weaknesses! A suggestion: Modify your attacking set pieces routines, so you have 4 players to stay back at all times. I found that I conseive a lot goals from failed attacking set pieces ( corners and free kicks), due to the opposition creating deadly counter attacks. On the default settings there are only two players who stay back and usually it's a weak spot when my team loses possession.

[Stridr44]

58 minutes ago, Haiku said:

I created a very succesful training regime, where I heavily train my players on defending and attacking set pieces( I have 5 set piece trainings spread over the week) and the results are great! Although my team is one of the shortest in average, I'm toping the charts for goals scored and less goals conseived from set pieces. Trainings definitely help improving your weaknesses! A suggestion: Modify your attacking set pieces routines, so you have 4 players to stay back at all times. I found that I conseive a lot goals from failed attacking set pieces ( corners and free kicks), due to the opposition creating deadly counter attacks. On the default settings there are only two players who stay back and usually it's a weak spot when my team loses possession.

 

1 hour ago, herne79 said:

Welcome to the forum .

Have you tried adjusting your training to focus more on defending set pieces?  Or set up defensive set piece routines?

Thank you both for the feedback. Although, I have a few questions.

Is there a way for me to cut on the conceding from crosses (not from corners), and also, Haiku, what 4 positions should I keep at the back for the attacking set piece routine? Also, for free kicks, do I keep 4 at the back for all kinds of free kicks (direct, indirect, etc)? By the way, are all those 5 training sessions all you do every week? I'm saying this because for me, that is the default amount of training sessions a week.

Thanks.

[summatsupeer]

Dont just look at it tactically, look at the players attributes. Whilst you might be able to prepare them with training, are most of your players just small and weak in the air?  Does your GK lack attributes to control the box?

If being counter attacked keep more players back and outside the box.

[Stridr44]

5 minutes ago, summatsupeer said:

Dont just look at it tactically, look at the players attributes. Whilst you might be able to prepare them with training, are most of your players just small and weak in the air?  Does your GK lack attributes to control the box?

If being counter attacked keep more players back and outside the box.

Do you mean keep them back in set piece routines, or by having a deep defensive line in my tactics? Also, I do feel that the attributes are a problem, just not a major one. For example, I managed to beat Real Madrid 1-0 at home somehow, but then struggled against Olympique Lyonnais and lost 1-2 home. I feel like at this point I have the set pieces sorted, but still not sure on how to stop the opponent from crossing the ball into the penalty box for a goal (when they kick/volley it in).

[Tom8983]

1 hour ago, Stridr44 said:

Is there a way for me to cut on the conceding from crosses (not from corners)

Stop the crosses coming in. Defend wider, funnelling the opposition wide men inside, close down/tight mark their wide players and show them onto weaker foot. 

50 minutes ago, Stridr44 said:

 I do feel that the attributes are a problem, just not a major one. For example, I managed to beat Real Madrid 1-0 at home somehow, but then struggled against Olympique Lyonnais and lost 1-2 home.

The name of the opposition team is irrelevant. Perhaps Lyon's forwards are better in the air than Real Madrid's.

Attributes are extremely important. If your defends have poor jumping reach, anticipation, positioning etc then they aren't going to be much good defending from crosses.

[herne79]

1 hour ago, Stridr44 said:

Do you mean keep them back in set piece routines, or by having a deep defensive line in my tactics? Also, I do feel that the attributes are a problem, just not a major one. For example, I managed to beat Real Madrid 1-0 at home somehow, but then struggled against Olympique Lyonnais and lost 1-2 home. I feel like at this point I have the set pieces sorted, but still not sure on how to stop the opponent from crossing the ball into the penalty box for a goal (when they kick/volley it in).

I think we're getting to the stage where we need to see your detailed tactical setup to give you more specific advice .

[johnnyyakuza78]

4 hours ago, Stridr44 said:

Hello,

I am having a problem in FM19 at the moment. I am playing with a small team, but have managed to get great results in the league. However, there has been an ongoing issue, with almost every game I play. No matter what tactic I use, I almost always concede to either free kicks, corners, and/or when the opponent crosses the ball to another opponent in the penalty box, then proceeding to score from either a header or kick/volley. For the league games, this isn't much of an issue, as the opposition usually doesn't score to begin with, or I score more goals than them. However, against bigger teams (mainly in the champions cup), this is a big issue. It doesn't happen all the time against bigger teams, but half of the time against larger teams I lose due to these set pieces and/or crosses. For a start, I tried stopping the free kick goals by tuning down on the tackling in the opposition instructions, and it worked, however, the opposition just scored from corners and crosses instead, like before.

What should I do to stop these issues in order to start winning matches against these larger teams?

Thanks.

How much possession do the opposition tend to have. How deep are you defending. How many corners or free kicks are they getting in these games. 

I have also suffered from this in the past. Usually its because I am either defending too high or too deep, so my team is being caught out or just conceding possession the whole time and allowing them free reign to attack. 

[Haiku]

3 hours ago, Stridr44 said:

Do you mean keep them back in set piece routines, or by having a deep defensive line in my tactics? Also, I do feel that the attributes are a problem, just not a major one. For example, I managed to beat Real Madrid 1-0 at home somehow, but then struggled against Olympique Lyonnais and lost 1-2 home. I feel like at this point I have the set pieces sorted, but still not sure on how to stop the opponent from crossing the ball into the penalty box for a goal (when they kick/volley it in).

Here's my training schedule. I forgot I cut out set pieces to 3 at the expence of goalkeeper training, because my GK's were complaining for not getting enough attention. Anyway, you may include free kick trainings if you wish:

https://gyazo.com/2098554fcd080523998c892a0458fb68

I keep my fullbacks and my two centre midfielders back at all times on all set piece routines.

This is my tactic, which produces insane results:

https://gyazo.com/61371177076bd9e5dbb00dbeeaebd404

I have tight marking as a personal instruction on all my positions except strikers, which somehow helps me defend better.

[summatsupeer]

5 hours ago, Stridr44 said:

Do you mean keep them back in set piece routines, or by having a deep defensive line in my tactics?

Set pieces screen if its set pieces your counter attacked from.

Dline does not affect your defence in set piece situations.

5 hours ago, Stridr44 said:

Also, I do feel that the attributes are a problem, just not a major one. For example, I managed to beat Real Madrid 1-0 at home somehow, but then struggled against Olympique Lyonnais and lost 1-2 home. I feel like at this point I have the set pieces sorted, but still not sure on how to stop the opponent from crossing the ball into the penalty box for a goal (when they kick/volley it in).

Now were going away from generic set piece advice to specific tactical advice which needs your specific tactic.

[MoonStridr442]

14 hours ago, summatsupeer said:

Set pieces screen if its set pieces your counter attacked from.

Dline does not affect your defence in set piece situations.

Now were going away from generic set piece advice to specific tactical advice which needs your specific tactic.

 

18 hours ago, johnnyyakuza78 said:

How much possession do the opposition tend to have. How deep are you defending. How many corners or free kicks are they getting in these games. 

I have also suffered from this in the past. Usually its because I am either defending too high or too deep, so my team is being caught out or just conceding possession the whole time and allowing them free reign to attack. 

 

19 hours ago, herne79 said:

I think we're getting to the stage where we need to see your detailed tactical setup to give you more specific advice .

Hi, Stridr on an alt here. Using most of my tactics the opposition tends to have 50-65% possession, however when I use some other tactics I can get around 50-65% as well. Here are the main tactics I use against bigger teams: (Note: I used quick pick for the lineups, not my actual lineups every game)

https://gyazo.com/0ab983cef3ad4c992bdd4d718f4f1991

https://gyazo.com/87755a89327037f7058bc36d6a9abfab

https://gyazo.com/46319937c5b397c610d808108e06d2d3

https://gyazo.com/64443f1c450f07367dc78ae095aba61b

https://gyazo.com/7025f957b134f8fdb2ac74c0d921db3f

The reason why I use so many different tactics against bigger opponents leads to another question: Do your opponents read your tactics and how you play? I know this would probably take quite a sophisticated AI, but last season in my save, I was demolishing all the clubs in the league with one tactic, then this season when I tried to use the tactic again, against 95% of the teams it failed. This may be because the clubs have bought better players, but I've gone up against clubs this season that were identical to last season in terms of players, and the tactic didn't work. The same is happening with these bigger teams, which is why I use such a variety of tactics. I also know this isn't update related cause I haven't updated my game ever since the start of my last season.

[herne79]

I'm afraid you're only supposed to have one account on this forum - "alt" accounts aren't allowed.

I see you've created 5 in the last 24 hours.  Any particular reason you're doing this?  Which one do you want to have - I'll close the others for you.  (I should have sent a PM about this but as you have so many accounts I don't know who to send the PM to lol).

Thanks.

1 hour ago, MoonStridr442 said:

Do your opponents read your tactics and how you play?

No, the AI isn't that smart (yet).  But what the AI can be quite good at is adapting it's tactic based on your performance - either over the course of a season or even during the course of a specific match.

So if the AI sees you are performing well in the league for example, it may start playing more cautiously against you.  Or if you are winning in a certain match the AI may become more aggressive, chasing an equaliser (or winner).

[MoonStridr442]

3 hours ago, herne79 said:

I'm afraid you're only supposed to have one account on this forum - "alt" accounts aren't allowed.

I see you've created 5 in the last 24 hours.  Any particular reason you're doing this?  Which one do you want to have - I'll close the others for you.

Oh sorry, didn't know. All good. I'll keep this one. Long story short, I had only made the original account to make this topic to get my question answered, hence, I made it with a 10 minute mail (I was only going to use it for however long it took to get some guidance on tactics/beating larger teams). After I had made the first one, I had left for a while, and the email had expired, and I couldn't verify my account. After this, to keep it short, I just got logged out a few times (second account I had closed chrome, must have had 'stay signed in' off or something) and now here I am. That's also why I've only posted on here and Stridr4 - they were the only accounts I didn't get logged out on. I'll make sure I don't get logged out again though.

 

Also, do you think I could change anything with the tactics I sent to start winning more games against the bigger sides?

Thanks.

[Experienced Defender]

8 hours ago, MoonStridr442 said:

https://gyazo.com/0ab983cef3ad4c992bdd4d718f4f1991

https://gyazo.com/87755a89327037f7058bc36d6a9abfab

https://gyazo.com/46319937c5b397c610d808108e06d2d3

https://gyazo.com/64443f1c450f07367dc78ae095aba61b

https://gyazo.com/7025f957b134f8fdb2ac74c0d921db3f

Not only that you are using as many as 5 very different tactics, but also different formations. You should first settle on one formation - my recommendation would be 4141DM Wide as the most flexible one  - and then start designing your primary tactic within this formation. Try to make the tactic as simple and logical as possible (without too many instructions and with well-balanced selection and distribution of roles and duties). Once you do this, potential tweaks can come into play (and be discussed here if needed). And try not to be one-dimensional with roles and duties.

[MoonStridr442]

16 minutes ago, Experienced Defender said:

Not only that you are using as many as 5 very different tactics, but also different formations. You should first settle on one formation - my recommendation would be 4141DM Wide as the most flexible one  - and then start designing your primary tactic within this formation. Try to make the tactic as simple and logical as possible (without too many instructions and with well-balanced selection and distribution of roles and duties). Once you do this, potential tweaks can come into play (and be discussed here if needed). And try not to be one-dimensional with roles and duties.

Thanks for the feedback. What do you think of this (if I were to use it against bigger teams)?

https://gyazo.com/4d394cf789584888d215150a94f93efe

Also, I know it has quite a few instructions but thats why I'm asking.

 

[Experienced Defender]

2 hours ago, MoonStridr442 said:

What do you think of this (if I were to use it against bigger teams)?

https://gyazo.com/4d394cf789584888d215150a94f93efe

Also, I know it has quite a few instructions but thats why I'm asking.

Well, as I already said: 

2 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

try not to be one-dimensional with roles and duties

And you are still terribly one-dimensional, meaning the flanks are literally mirroring each other. This makes your attacks too predictable. There a number of combinations that can work nicely, but which one would optimally suit your team depends on your players. I'll just give you a couple of examples:

- FBsu and Wat on one flank, and FBat and IFsu on the other

- (I)WBsu and Wat on one flank, and FBat and APsu on the other

Of course, here you also need to take into account the other roles and duties within the system, so that you would not disrupt defensive balance.

You don't necessarily have to play on a low-risk mentality against bigger teams, unless you are a complete underdog. There are other ways to make a tactic defensively solid and thus difficult for the opposition to break you down. 

Then your defensive instructions are totally suicidal:

- the combination of low DL and high LOE is greatly reducing your vertical compactness, allowing the opposition to play their way through the lines of your team more easily, which is especially risky against the strong opposition you've been struggling with. So either set both DL and LOE to standard (in a 4141dm wide that gives you decent compactness) or standard DL and lower LOE (which is a good level of compactness)

- extremely urgent pressing is another suicidal instruction I would immediately remove - why do you want to disrupt your defensive shape and thus help the opposition smash you?

- counter-press can be a double-edged sword against stronger teams - given that they are better than you, once they beat your pressing, you are in all sorts of trouble. Regroup is a lot better and more logical option in this type of matches.

Then you have contradictory instructions. On one hand, you are asking the keeper to distribute the ball quickly, but then want to play on a lower tempo (which on cautious mentality is already low by default). 

I also have to ask a question - what's the reasoning behind both wider defensive width and (extremely) wide attacking width? 

 

[MoonStridr442]

10 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

Well, as I already said: 

And you are still terribly one-dimensional, meaning the flanks are literally mirroring each other. This makes your attacks too predictable. There a number of combinations that can work nicely, but which one would optimally suit your team depends on your players. I'll just give you a couple of examples:

- FBsu and Wat on one flank, and FBat and IFsu on the other

- (I)WBsu and Wat on one flank, and FBat and APsu on the other

Of course, here you also need to take into account the other roles and duties within the system, so that you would not disrupt defensive balance.

You don't necessarily have to play on a low-risk mentality against bigger teams, unless you are a complete underdog. There are other ways to make a tactic defensively solid and thus difficult for the opposition to break you down. 

Then your defensive instructions are totally suicidal:

- the combination of low DL and high LOE is greatly reducing your vertical compactness, allowing the opposition to play their way through the lines of your team more easily, which is especially risky against the strong opposition you've been struggling with. So either set both DL and LOE to standard (in a 4141dm wide that gives you decent compactness) or standard DL and lower LOE (which is a good level of compactness)

- extremely urgent pressing is another suicidal instruction I would immediately remove - why do you want to disrupt your defensive shape and thus help the opposition smash you?

- counter-press can be a double-edged sword against stronger teams - given that they are better than you, once they beat your pressing, you are in all sorts of trouble. Regroup is a lot better and more logical option in this type of matches.

Then you have contradictory instructions. On one hand, you are asking the keeper to distribute the ball quickly, but then want to play on a lower tempo (which on cautious mentality is already low by default). 

I also have to ask a question - what's the reasoning behind both wider defensive width and (extremely) wide attacking width? 

 

After I had posted the comment, I did make changes to the roles, and was going to edit the link to post the new tactic with changed roles, but you had answered by then. Since you had asked, I'll explain as to why I have both wider defensive width and (extremely) wide attacking width. I have these instructions because across all the games that I have played, I have found that using the width of the pitch works very well for my players; most of my goals are from crosses due to my wingers running on the left and right flanks of the pitch. Thus, I'm using my players' strengths to my advantage. As for the wide defensive width, this is because as I had said before, the opposition also mostly scores from crosses, running down the flanks using the width of the pitch. Here's the tactic link: https://gyazo.com/041c7c22f0a453b4a8b16b8c810bc921 

I can also explain the roles and duties if you'd like.

Thanks.

[Experienced Defender]

3 hours ago, MoonStridr442 said:

Here's the tactic link: https://gyazo.com/041c7c22f0a453b4a8b16b8c810bc921 

If this is a tactic you intend to use against stronger teams (which are supposed to attack you most of the time), then playing the lone DM as a RPM makes no sense. You need a role that will be focused primarily (if not entirely) on protecting the back line (my preference would be an anchorman), rather than a role that will roam around and look to join attacks more often than not. 

When you play against these stronger teams, do you want just to desperately defend and try not to concede (if possible), or you want to be solid defensively but also to try to threaten them occasionally on the counter? 

And how much does this tactic differ from your regular tactic (which you use in other matches)?

[MoonStridr442]

8 minutes ago, Experienced Defender said:

If this is a tactic you intend to use against stronger teams (which are supposed to attack you most of the time), then playing the lone DM as a RPM makes no sense. You need a role that will be focused primarily (if not entirely) on protecting the back line (my preference would be an anchorman), rather than a role that will roam around and look to join attacks more often than not. 

And how much does this tactic differ from your regular tactic (which you use in other matches)?

This tactic differs quite a bit from my regular tactic.

I did change my RPM's role to an anchorman. Any other suggestions?

[Experienced Defender]

4 hours ago, MoonStridr442 said:

This tactic differs quite a bit from my regular tactic

Can you then post your regular tactic so that I/we can compare the two? Because IMHO a "special" tactic should not be too much different from the regular one. 

 

4 hours ago, MoonStridr442 said:

I did change my RPM's role to an anchorman. Any other suggestions?

I would probably have some more suggestions to offer, but not until you tell me what's exactly your idea in terms of playing style against the stronger teams. I already asked you that: 

 

4 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

When you play against these stronger teams, do you want just to desperately defend and try not to concede (if possible), or you want to be solid defensively but also to try to threaten them occasionally on the counter?

 

[MoonStridr442]

1 hour ago, Experienced Defender said:

Can you then post your regular tactic so that I/we can compare the two? Because IMHO a "special" tactic should not be too much different from the regular one. 

 

I would probably have some more suggestions to offer, but not until you tell me what's exactly your idea in terms of playing style against the stronger teams. I already asked you that: 

 

 

Here's my tactic that I use in league games, I know it's really simple with minimal instructions but for my team it works really well in the league:

https://gyazo.com/5cd8f6751c073f267ef6d30b0c1eb4bf

I also use this tactic in league games, but only rarely, so the one on top is my primary/regular tactic (thought I'd put this one in anyway):

https://gyazo.com/d1da0b131b0aeb08cbfe1fbd659ff822

As for what you had asked me, I would want to:

6 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

Be solid defensively but also to threaten them on the counter.

 

 

[Experienced Defender]

2 hours ago, MoonStridr442 said:

Here's my tactic that I use in league games, I know it's really simple with minimal instructions but for my team it works really well in the league:

https://gyazo.com/5cd8f6751c073f267ef6d30b0c1eb4bf

I also use this tactic in league games, but only rarely, so the one on top is my primary/regular tactic (thought I'd put this one in anyway):

https://gyazo.com/d1da0b131b0aeb08cbfe1fbd659ff822

Huh man, you are using 3 different formations, not just different tactics. And on top of that - one of these 3 is asymmetric (which I never use, so would rather refrain from any comment). And this last (narrow 433) one is extremely risky defensively. I really don't know what I would say, because all that complicates the whole thing too much for my liking. My approach to the tactical side of the game is entirely different. I tend to have one primary tactic that optimally suits my players and is based on my analysis of the squad. Then I make slight tweaks to this primary tactic when needed, but never create other tactics that are totally different to this one. I may occasionally use more than one formation (when I manage a top team), but even then these formations are all of the same kind (for example, if my primary formation is 442, the secondary one can be 4411 or 4141) and the tactics used within these formations are also of a similar kind.

 

[MoonStridr442]

5 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

Huh man, you are using 3 different formations, not just different tactics. And on top of that - one of these 3 is asymmetric (which I never use, so would rather refrain from any comment). And this last (narrow 433) one is extremely risky defensively. I really don't know what I would say, because all that complicates the whole thing too much for my liking. My approach to the tactical side of the game is entirely different. I tend to have one primary tactic that optimally suits my players and is based on my analysis of the squad. Then I make slight tweaks to this primary tactic when needed, but never create other tactics that are totally different to this one. I may occasionally use more than one formation (when I manage a top team), but even then these formations are all of the same kind (for example, if my primary formation is 442, the secondary one can be 4411 or 4141) and the tactics used within these formations are also of a similar kind.

 

I can see where you're coming from. At the end of the day, I guess that is just how my save/game is. As I had said, using essentially the same tactic/similar tactics over and over again never ends well for me. Don't know why, I just end up losing after a bit to several teams in my league, champions cup group, etc. I have to refrain to a completely different tactic, but then, afterwards, I do get a good result. At least we know the tactic is headed in the right direction, I'm playing as Asteras Tripolis from the Greek Superleague (probably no one here knows them) and I've managed to draw with Liverpool 1-1 in the Champions Cup, (using the tactic we just built), which is a really good result against a team like them (in my opinion). As for the 433 one being risky defensively and as for the asymmetric one, I only use them in league games, and they work well, so I guess that's just how my league is.

[Experienced Defender]

21 minutes ago, MoonStridr442 said:

As I had said, using essentially the same tactic/similar tactics over and over again never ends well for me. Don't know why, I just end up losing after a bit to several teams in my league, champions cup group, etc

I guess because those  tactics are created in a wrong way (i.e. on wrong foundations). For example, you can sometimes get good results against stronger teams by playing more aggressively and offensively than they would expect from you, meaning you won them not because your tactic made sense but because you took them by surprise. However, this kind of "success" usually doesn't last long, because once your team's reputation has grown, other teams will adapt their tactics accordingly and thus nullify the threat your tactic had previously posed.

[MoonStridr442]

2 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

I guess because those  tactics are created in a wrong way (i.e. on wrong foundations). For example, you can sometimes get good results against stronger teams by playing more aggressively and offensively than they would expect from you, meaning you won them not because your tactic made sense but because you took them by surprise. However, this kind of "success" usually doesn't last long, because once your team's reputation has grown, other teams will adapt their tactics accordingly and thus nullify the threat your tactic had previously posed.

I do get what you mean. Fortunately, I don't think that this is the case (in terms of league games), as I am 2 seasons in and have been champions in my league both times. Obviously against the bigger sides this may be one of the issues. 

On 10/07/2019 at 21:32, herne79 said:

I think we're getting to the stage where we need to see your detailed tactical setup to give you more specific advice .

 

On 11/07/2019 at 01:44, summatsupeer said:

Set pieces screen if its set pieces your counter attacked from.

Dline does not affect your defence in set piece situations.

Now were going away from generic set piece advice to specific tactical advice which needs your specific tactic.

 

On 10/07/2019 at 22:19, johnnyyakuza78 said:

How much possession do the opposition tend to have. How deep are you defending. How many corners or free kicks are they getting in these games. 

I have also suffered from this in the past. Usually its because I am either defending too high or too deep, so my team is being caught out or just conceding possession the whole time and allowing them free reign to attack. 

 

On 10/07/2019 at 21:17, Tom8983 said:

Stop the crosses coming in. Defend wider, funnelling the opposition wide men inside, close down/tight mark their wide players and show them onto weaker foot. 

The name of the opposition team is irrelevant. Perhaps Lyon's forwards are better in the air than Real Madrid's.

Attributes are extremely important. If your defends have poor jumping reach, anticipation, positioning etc then they aren't going to be much good defending from crosses.

 

On 10/07/2019 at 19:07, Haiku said:

I created a very succesful training regime, where I heavily train my players on defending and attacking set pieces( I have 5 set piece trainings spread over the week) and the results are great! Although my team is one of the shortest in average, I'm toping the charts for goals scored and less goals conseived from set pieces. Trainings definitely help improving your weaknesses! A suggestion: Modify your attacking set pieces routines, so you have 4 players to stay back at all times. I found that I conseive a lot goals from failed attacking set pieces ( corners and free kicks), due to the opposition creating deadly counter attacks. On the default settings there are only two players who stay back and usually it's a weak spot when my team loses possession.

As for everyone part of this topic, anything I could change in this tactic to fully optimise it to be used to beat stronger sides (currently my aim is to defeat Liverpool, I am going to go up against them next Champions Cup game, I am playing as Asteras Tripolis from the Greek Superleague).

Tactic: https://gyazo.com/c9aaa2a5cce99d56cb8b4df638faefdc

Thanks.

[Experienced Defender]

9 hours ago, MoonStridr442 said:

I am 2 seasons in and have been champions in my league both times. Obviously against the bigger sides this may be one of the issues

If you are the champion of your league in 2 consecutive seasons with a team that is not considered a top team, then I really don't see why would you change your tactic(s), even if you are still struggling against stronger teams (I suppose top European teams in the Champions league) 

[MoonStridr442]

59 minutes ago, Experienced Defender said:

If you are the champion of your league in 2 consecutive seasons with a team that is not considered a top team, then I really don't see why would you change your tactic(s), even if you are still struggling against stronger teams (I suppose top European teams in the Champions league) 

The reason I am changing my tactics for the Champions Cup is because my league tactic(s) aren't working against the bigger teams, mainly because they are attacking tactics, which is again why I'm looking for advice and tweaks on the tactic we were discussing before. The whole using the same tactic thing also is a reason, which we already went over. And yes, of course I know that I probably won't win the Champions Cup due to these top teams in the champions league, but again, that's why I'm asking for guidance to try to go as far as I can. I'm also asking in the first place because I know there is some hope, made it into the semi finals of the champions cup last season (obviously I did have some luck, if I were capable of getting into the semi's without luck I probably wouldn't of posted this topic in the first place).

Any more tweaks you can think of with the tactic? (If not that's fine)

Thanks.

[johnnyyakuza78]

If it was me I would make a basic defensive tactic. 451, remove almost all attacking roles from players, cautious mentality. Get some hard working players, congest the midfield.

Wouldnt bother adding much more to the tactic than that. You might be able to keep a clean sheet, sneak a goal on the counter , maybe you a pacey striker or winger.

I think sometimes you have to accept the limitations of your side. 99 times out of 100 you’ll get beaten by Barcelona but there is that one time you might scrape past them