[FM21] A Complete Guide to Quick Transitions and Counter Attacking Football

[Tibalg]

1 hour ago, engamohd said:

Cheers, thank you!

Maybe I'd drop the lower LOE since we are naturally low, but this will require watching the games and taking notes

You mean dropping two times the LOE on the Positive mentality ? Or just one time, as you currently has on your 4-4-1-1 ?

 

And very curious to have your opinion on 4-4-2 and the role of the strikers / identifing the ball carriers 

[engamohd]

1 minute ago, Tibalg said:

You mean dropping two times the LOE on the Positive mentality ? Or just one time, as you currently has on your 4-4-1-1 ?

 

And very curious to have your opinion on 4-4-2 and the role of the strikers / identifing the ball carriers 

I am sorry, I wasn't clear enough, I mean dropping the lower LOE TI; i.e. going on standard LOE and DL.

Regarding the 4-4-2, I believe it has less support, the 4-4-1-1 is much better. However, I'd go with a DLF-S + DLF-A as a base striker combo, with the ball carriers an IW-A and a AP-S. So I may start like this:

DLF-S - DLF-A

IW-A - BWM-D - AP-S/RPM - WM-S

WB-S - CD-D - CD-D - FB-S

 

Bold will be the ball carriers, and the underlined italics are the supporters. Needless to say, this is all just theoretical and you will need to refine and adjust based on your players and what you see in game.

[Tibalg]

27 minutes ago, engamohd said:

I am sorry, I wasn't clear enough, I mean dropping the lower LOE TI; i.e. going on standard LOE and DL.

Regarding the 4-4-2, I believe it has less support, the 4-4-1-1 is much better. However, I'd go with a DLF-S + DLF-A as a base striker combo, with the ball carriers an IW-A and a AP-S. So I may start like this:

DLF-S - DLF-A

IW-A - BWM-D - AP-S/RPM - WM-S

WB-S - CD-D - CD-D - FB-S

 

Bold will be the ball carriers, and the underlined italics are the supporters. Needless to say, this is all just theoretical and you will need to refine and adjust based on your players and what you see in game.

I'm curious about your base striker combo. I always find 4-4-2 more dangerous that 4-4-1-1, but I did'nt give it real chance on the last one.

I read your incredible topic on 4-4-1-1 and make me think a lot about using it, and I guess I'm afraid of the AMC position, not as lethal as a pure striker. I suppose the base combo of DLF is there to have them both creating and finishing, and recreate the AP(a) or AM(a) / DLF (s) or TM (s) you have. 

Of course, the other point is having a striker in (a) duty means we already have someone upfront, and maybe the other team is more careful, and you can not break them down with the fantastic run as easily with only a striker on (s) duty.

[engamohd]

3 minutes ago, Tibalg said:

I'm curious about your base striker combo. I always find 4-4-2 more dangerous that 4-4-1-1, but I did'nt give it real chance on the last one.

I read your incredible topic on 4-4-1-1 and make me think a lot about using it, and I guess I'm afraid of the AMC position, not as lethal as a pure striker. I suppose the base combo of DLF is there to have them both creating and finishing, and recreate the AP(a) or AM(a) / DLF (s) or TM (s) you have. 

Of course, the other point is having a striker in (a) duty means we already have someone upfront, and maybe the other team is more careful, and you can not break them down with the fantastic run as easily with only a striker on (s) duty.

You are correct. I was thinking to try to replicate as much as possible the dlf and ap combo with two strikers, without making one of them stretching the opposition, since this will make the rest of the team look to play him in, which is obviously unwanted.

You are correct that the AMC in my 4411 article (am-s) was not lethal enough. However, using a top AP-A in this style has been absolutely lethal for me. Buendia aces this role, having the second most key passes in the league behind Bruno F.

[Bot Makel]

1 hour ago, engamohd said:

You are correct. I was thinking to try to replicate as much as possible the dlf and ap combo with two strikers, without making one of them stretching the opposition, since this will make the rest of the team look to play him in, which is obviously unwanted.

You are correct that the AMC in my 4411 article (am-s) was not lethal enough. However, using a top AP-A in this style has been absolutely lethal for me. Buendia aces this role, having the second most key passes in the league behind Bruno F.

Maybe trequartista and DLF? Or False 9 and DLF? 

[engamohd]

1 hour ago, Bot Makel said:

Maybe trequartista and DLF? Or False 9 and DLF? 

Maybe a pair of DLF-S and change the RM to IW-A?

[Bot Makel]

39 minutes ago, engamohd said:

Maybe a pair of DLF-S and change the RM to IW-A?

It doesn't convince me that much. The attacking midfielder will go deep but attracts the ball so no. I would give the False 9 a chance. In the past years I have often used it in the 4-4-2 and I had a great time, it acts as an AMC basically.

Edited January 20, 2021 by Bot Makel

[Fletty]

This is how i set up my Celtic team in big European games against much better sides.....  This thread is quality. 👍

[Aquaplex]

Great article, enjoyed reading it.  Do you use this style in all your games, even when you're heavily favored?

Edited January 20, 2021 by Aquaplex

[breze77]

Great thread!

I have applied some of your principles to my 2nd season Chelsea team (basically my tactics testing save, which resulted in a very inconsistent 1st season, still finished 3rd somehow ). After seeing this thread I realized that my squad was quite well suited for a counter attacking style (and quite an aggressive one at that). I also took some inspiration from Mourinho's first Chelsea stint and came up with a deep 4-1-4-1 that looks like this:

The idea being of using Havertz and Ziyech as the ball carriers, with Werner (with his rapid speed) joining the counter attacks. I have found my "mini" Drogba in Tammy as he is a decent mix of a Targetman/Goalscorer. I'm playing Kante in a simple CMs with no extra instructions as he already preforms a BWM role naturally (specially with the closing down being increased across the team with the Attacking mentality). Reece James provides width when necessary and can deliver deadly crosses from that right side if given space.

I also bought a centerback (Nehuen Perez) to play as my Anchorman as I really like his attributes. He can read the game well, is very aggressive and brave and also has the PPM "Stays back at all times". Oh, and his 13 passing and 14 vision means that he can comfortably pass the ball around in midfield and sometimes even produce a defence splitting pass (again thanks to that Attacking mentality). His profile for those interested:

Cost me a pretty penny though (87m release clause) .

As for why I decided on the Attacking mentality? Well I have a team of very good players for this league, with good workrate, determination and teamwork across all positions. So I feel I can take the extra risks, especially because I'm also playing a "defensive" 4-1-4-1 formation.

The tactic doesn't always work (as was to be expected) but when it does work it produces some fascinating football. I struggle againts the really deep blocks, the 5-4-1 formations and such. I also have to be careful to adjust the LOE and Defensive lines depending on the opposition (this cost me in the 3-3 vs. Spurs and 2-1 vs. Man. City). If, for example, they have some great dribblers, I can't afford to drop too deep because I don't want my players fouling them inside my box (a higher line will keep them further away).

I'll maybe report some more as the season progresses.

Some clips for the end.

 

[Fletty]

8 hours ago, Fletty said:

This is how i set up my Celtic team in big European games against much better sides.....  This thread is quality. 👍

The much lower tempo is a mistake, play with standard or higher.

[Fletty]

12 hours ago, breze77 said:

Great thread!

I have applied some of your principles to my 2nd season Chelsea team (basically my tactics testing save, which resulted in a very inconsistent 1st season, still finished 3rd somehow ). After seeing this thread I realized that my squad was quite well suited for a counter attacking style (and quite an aggressive one at that). I also took some inspiration from Mourinho's first Chelsea stint and came up with a deep 4-1-4-1 that looks like this:

The idea being of using Havertz and Ziyech as the ball carriers, with Werner (with his rapid speed) joining the counter attacks. I have found my "mini" Drogba in Tammy as he is a decent mix of a Targetman/Goalscorer. I'm playing Kante in a simple CMs with no extra instructions as he already preforms a BWM role naturally (specially with the closing down being increased across the team with the Attacking mentality). Reece James provides width when necessary and can deliver deadly crosses from that right side if given space.

I also bought a centerback (Nehuen Perez) to play as my Anchorman as I really like his attributes. He can read the game well, is very aggressive and brave and also has the PPM "Stays back at all times". Oh, and his 13 passing and 14 vision means that he can comfortably pass the ball around in midfield and sometimes even produce a defence splitting pass (again thanks to that Attacking mentality). His profile for those interested:

Cost me a pretty penny though (87m release clause) .

As for why I decided on the Attacking mentality? Well I have a team of very good players for this league, with good workrate, determination and teamwork across all positions. So I feel I can take the extra risks, especially because I'm also playing a "defensive" 4-1-4-1 formation.

The tactic doesn't always work (as was to be expected) but when it does work it produces some fascinating football. I struggle againts the really deep blocks, the 5-4-1 formations and such. I also have to be careful to adjust the LOE and Defensive lines depending on the opposition (this cost me in the 3-3 vs. Spurs and 2-1 vs. Man. City). If, for example, they have some great dribblers, I can't afford to drop too deep because I don't want my players fouling them inside my box (a higher line will keep them further away).

I'll maybe report some more as the season progresses.

Some clips for the end.

 

 

Some really good goals there, Werner is a beast (just having a mare in real life) Perfect forward for this would be Harry Kane, doubt you would be able to get him of of Spurs though.

[breze77]

18 minutes ago, Fletty said:

Some really good goals there, Werner is a beast (just having a mare in real life) Perfect forward for this would be Harry Kane, doubt you would be able to get him of of Spurs though.

Yeah Kane would be a good option, but he was already picked up by Man City along with Son. 

[Fletty]

1 hour ago, breze77 said:

Yeah Kane would be a good option, but he was already picked up by Man City along with Son. 

Kane Son and Sterling on the counter attack. 👌👌👌 just a pity the Eggplant emoji isn't available. 😂

[HowzatFM]

When the tactic clicks, I’ve had some decent results and nice goals! However it’s currently a bit inconsistent for me, but think that’s more my players! will either win 3-0 or lose 1-0, with a lot of the goals coming late on 😡, but overall like the movements of the team

Against teams that have very bottom heavy formations is when I struggle the most, I am going to try a higher LoD And LoE in these matches! 

Edited January 21, 2021 by benhoward12

[breze77]

Quick update after a game vs Liverpool.

We've won 1-0, barely, but we did. And all thanks to a tactical change I made at half time that actually worked exactly as planned, I might just be the special one .

Jokes aside, we started this game with the same 4-1-4-1 I posted earlier and Liverpool were completely dominating us. I mean we could barely progress past the midfield line, it was that bad. Both Ziyech and Havertz (my ball carriers) had a 6.4 rating at half time and were shut out of the game by the system and press Liverpool deployed againts us.

At half time I clicked the little Analysis button in the tactics creator and it showed me the average position of ours and the oppositions players. It looked something like this (this screenshot is from after the match).

I quickly noticed exactly what was wrong with my tactic and why we couldn't progress the ball at all. Look at all of our offensive players, nrs. 22, 7, 29 and 11.. they are all surrounded by a triangle of Liverpool players. And look at the huge spaces their number 7 and 11 (Salah and Mane of all people) have to run into. The only good thing I can take away is that I mostly managed to block their striker and somewhat neutralized their AMC. Thats probably the only reason it stayed 0-0 until half time.. ok, and cause of a bit of luck on my side. So what did I do?

Well my thought process was to switch to a back 3. This would allow me to play with wingbacks who would pin their wingers back a bit, while still keeping their AMC and ST in check. I still kept the 2 in midfield as they nicely matched their midfield. I had a Libero on Attack duty in the middle of my defence, so he still kept an eye on their AMC during transitions at least. The next thing I did was deploy 2x AMCs of my own (SS and APat) so I had a 4v4 againts their defensive box (nrs. 4, 12, 8 and 6). All that was left to do is move my nr. 11 (Werner) to the ST position and play him as a PF so he can penetrate them through the middle of that box. So now we have numerical superiority againts their defence.

So to summarise: my two midfielders would pin back their two midfielders, my two AMCs would play behind them and pin back their centerbacks and then I had a spare man in my ST who would disrupt their defensive shape.

It worked like a charm. Here's the goal we scored. Maybe a bit lucky, but look at the amount of space we suddenly had to play our game. In the first half we could barely move across the midfield line.

I made this update as I wanted to showcase that It's important to pay attention to your opponents positions and how they play, especially if you want to counter them. I may have been able to break through with my 4-1-4-1 againts a lesser side, but againts a side like Liverpool I had to take extreme measures.

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by breze77

[Plugpin]

5 hours ago, benhoward12 said:

When the tactic clicks, I’ve had some decent results and nice goals! However it’s currently a bit inconsistent for me, but think that’s more my players! will either win 3-0 or lose 1-0, with a lot of the goals coming late on 😡, but overall like the movements of the team

Having the same outcome here. Pretty sure it's my team. A lack of strength in defense is being exposed against big teams. I bought some younger players who will grow into the role because somehow the AI has gone nuts with fees. 5 clubs spent over £150mil on a single player (2025) and 3 of them with me in the Prem so I just don't have the cash to compete. 

[engamohd]

20 hours ago, breze77 said:

Quick update after a game vs Liverpool.

We've won 1-0, barely, but we did. And all thanks to a tactical change I made at half time that actually worked exactly as planned, I might just be the special one .

Jokes aside, we started this game with the same 4-1-4-1 I posted earlier and Liverpool were completely dominating us. I mean we could barely progress past the midfield line, it was that bad. Both Ziyech and Havertz (my ball carriers) had a 6.4 rating at half time and were shut out of the game by the system and press Liverpool deployed againts us.

At half time I clicked the little Analysis button in the tactics creator and it showed me the average position of ours and the oppositions players. It looked something like this (this screenshot is from after the match).

I quickly noticed exactly what was wrong with my tactic and why we couldn't progress the ball at all. Look at all of our offensive players, nrs. 22, 7, 29 and 11.. they are all surrounded by a triangle of Liverpool players. And look at the huge spaces their number 7 and 11 (Salah and Mane of all people) have to run into. The only good thing I can take away is that I mostly managed to block their striker and somewhat neutralized their AMC. Thats probably the only reason it stayed 0-0 until half time.. ok, and cause of a bit of luck on my side. So what did I do?

Well my thought process was to switch to a back 3. This would allow me to play with wingbacks who would pin their wingers back a bit, while still keeping their AMC and ST in check. I still kept the 2 in midfield as they nicely matched their midfield. I had a Libero on Attack duty in the middle of my defence, so he still kept an eye on their AMC during transitions at least. The next thing I did was deploy 2x AMCs of my own (SS and APat) so I had a 4v4 againts their defensive box (nrs. 4, 12, 8 and 6). All that was left to do is move my nr. 11 (Werner) to the ST position and play him as a PF so he can penetrate them through the middle of that box. So now we have numerical superiority againts their defence.

So to summarise: my two midfielders would pin back their two midfielders, my two AMCs would play behind them and pin back their centerbacks and then I had a spare man in my ST who would disrupt their defensive shape.

It worked like a charm. Here's the goal we scored. Maybe a bit lucky, but look at the amount of space we suddenly had to play our game. In the first half we could barely move across the midfield line.

 

I made this update as I wanted to showcase that It's important to pay attention to your opponents positions and how they play, especially if you want to counter them. I may have been able to break through with my 4-1-4-1 againts a lesser side, but againts a side like Liverpool I had to take extreme measures.

 

That's some brilliant analysis.

However, I like to force our style on the opposition, rather than being reactive. How many times you see Simeone change from a 4411 or Ranieri's Leicester change from a 442?

My issue is mainly against much stronger teams, namely Liverpool and Man Utd. I simply found that we lose the ball often as we try to break, hence I just decreased the mentality to Cautious, and set the DLF to DLF-A. This makes us much more solid against these aggressive sides with more quality.

[breze77]

4 minutes ago, engamohd said:

That's some brilliant analysis.

However, I like to force our style on the opposition, rather than being reactive. How many times you see Simeone change from a 4411 or Ranieri's Leicester change from a 442?

My issue is mainly against much stronger teams, namely Liverpool and Man Utd. I simply found that we lose the ball often as we try to break, hence I just decreased the mentality to Cautious, and set the DLF to DLF-A. This makes us much more solid against these aggressive sides with more quality.

Yeah that's true. It's also quite hard to always react correctly to the opposition. I think I got quite lucky there that it worked.

Sometimes a mentality change is all you need, or maybe a personnel change. A player with "Comes deep" or "Plays one twos" could have maybe helped with ball progression in that game. I'll have to try something like that next time and see if I can impose our gameplan on them.

[engamohd]

After losing the title on GD to Liverpool, and losing to them in the Semi Finals of the CL, we had to avenge this in the next season. Our first game of the season was against them at home, and the I just went with my default style, and this happened:

We are led by debutant superstar striker (regen):

And two elite ball carriers:

and shielded by world class midfielder:

Getting these "right" players for our style made us play perfectly, and completely stifled Liverpool.

[HowzatFM]

On 21/01/2021 at 16:53, benhoward12 said:

When the tactic clicks, I’ve had some decent results and nice goals! However it’s currently a bit inconsistent for me, but think that’s more my players! will either win 3-0 or lose 1-0, with a lot of the goals coming late on 😡, but overall like the movements of the team

Against teams that have very bottom heavy formations is when I struggle the most, I am going to try a higher LoD And LoE in these matches! 

I’ve just been promoted from the championship with Didcot Town. Predicted to finish near the bottom by the media, used many of the ideas from this thread, used a CM(D) instead of the BWM and upped the LoE against weaker teams! As above, the IW and AP were key to my success!! 

Edited January 23, 2021 by benhoward12

[engamohd]

On 20/01/2021 at 16:01, Tibalg said:

I'm curious about your base striker combo. I always find 4-4-2 more dangerous that 4-4-1-1, but I did'nt give it real chance on the last one.

I read your incredible topic on 4-4-1-1 and make me think a lot about using it, and I guess I'm afraid of the AMC position, not as lethal as a pure striker. I suppose the base combo of DLF is there to have them both creating and finishing, and recreate the AP(a) or AM(a) / DLF (s) or TM (s) you have. 

Of course, the other point is having a striker in (a) duty means we already have someone upfront, and maybe the other team is more careful, and you can not break them down with the fantastic run as easily with only a striker on (s) duty.

I have been favouring the 442 lately since I have a couple of superstar strikers, this is how my 442 iteration looks like:

[beverage1982]

2 hours ago, engamohd said:

I have been favouring the 442 lately since I have a couple of superstar strikers, this is how my 442 iteration looks like:

This is super interesting. I'm thinking of trying a Villa recreation as a 442. barkley as an F9

[RCCook]

On 21/01/2021 at 16:20, Plugpin said:

Having the same outcome here. Pretty sure it's my team. A lack of strength in defense is being exposed against big teams. I bought some younger players who will grow into the role because somehow the AI has gone nuts with fees. 5 clubs spent over £150mil on a single player (2025) and 3 of them with me in the Prem so I just don't have the cash to compete. 

Same here. My defense is fairly solid, but prone to the occasional brain fart, and we give up some high-quality chances as a result. I've also had some issues with high-pressing sides cutting off our passing lanes and making counters difficult. Seems like I'm either winning 5-1 or losing 1-0. But it's a lot more entertaining football than what I had been playing, and with better players, it should improve.

[Tibalg]

On 25/01/2021 at 15:57, engamohd said:

I have been favouring the 442 lately since I have a couple of superstar strikers, this is how my 442 iteration looks like:

Very nice setup ! Simple and well balance.

How is your left side performing ? I usually see that with a FB(s), the IW(a) has a little support. I assume you adjust regaring the opposition with a WB(s), or with a player with offensive PPM ?

And I also noticed with this setup that the WM(s) is too conservative, and switching the WM in (a) and IW in (s) is creating more panic in opposing teams

 

[engamohd]

6 hours ago, Tibalg said:

Very nice setup ! Simple and well balance.

How is your left side performing ? I usually see that with a FB(s), the IW(a) has a little support. I assume you adjust regaring the opposition with a WB(s), or with a player with offensive PPM ?

And I also noticed with this setup that the WM(s) is too conservative, and switching the WM in (a) and IW in (s) is creating more panic in opposing teams

 

You are correct in that these two roles are largely player affected. The plan is that the WM covers behind the RPM if he is caught out of possession. I play a B2B mid player in that position if I need more defensive cover, or someone like Emi Buendia there and he operates like a wide playmaker. 

The same can be said about the LB, I want him to cover behind the IW, which if a correct player is used there, scores and assists lots.

Edited January 27, 2021 by engamohd

[dejarik]

This is a great thread that came at a great time - I had just started a new save with Newcastle and wanted to be defensively solid and strong on the break to utilize the speed of Saint-Maximin, Fraser, Almiron and Wilson.

Wilson is such a great goalscorer and I feel that by using him in a DLFs role, I'm removing some of the potential goals that come from him being played in behind. In possession I want him to be leading the line and looking for goals also. The best thing would be a halfway-role where he sometimes attacks the space behind the defence and sometimes drops deep. On Positive team mentality, the only individual mentality for forwards are either Balanced (all the support mentalities, like DLFs) or Very Attacking.

My question is: Do you think a DLFa could work as a sort of "halfway role" for Wilson? Do you think another role would suit him better?

[engamohd]

8 hours ago, dejarik said:

This is a great thread that came at a great time - I had just started a new save with Newcastle and wanted to be defensively solid and strong on the break to utilize the speed of Saint-Maximin, Fraser, Almiron and Wilson.

Wilson is such a great goalscorer and I feel that by using him in a DLFs role, I'm removing some of the potential goals that come from him being played in behind. In possession I want him to be leading the line and looking for goals also. The best thing would be a halfway-role where he sometimes attacks the space behind the defence and sometimes drops deep. On Positive team mentality, the only individual mentality for forwards are either Balanced (all the support mentalities, like DLFs) or Very Attacking.

My question is: Do you think a DLFa could work as a sort of "halfway role" for Wilson? Do you think another role would suit him better?

Thank you!

Sure, the DLF-A could work, and I would try it out with a supporting attacking mid behind him.

[dejarik]

6 minutes ago, engamohd said:

Thank you!

Sure, the DLF-A could work, and I would try it out with a supporting attacking mid behind him.

Why is that? Do you think an APa would be too aggressive?

[engamohd]

1 minute ago, dejarik said:

Why is that? Do you think an APa would be too aggressive?

Not saying that it won't work, but yes, I think it is more solid with a support attacking mid behind the attacking striker. 

[dejarik]

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll test out some different combinations in the games.

My first league game was a solid 3-0 win over Leeds where we created over 2 xG and the barely got over 0,2. The ME is really improved since last year, more smart interplay between the players.

[Nick_CB]

In my current season I lost 2 match (Barcelona and Atletico M) in the final minutes after winning 2-0, I really need to assimilate the information on this topic, it will be of great help. 

I play in a 433, I wonder if in this case a DLF (s) or (a) is more prudent

[RCCook]

On 25/01/2021 at 22:13, RCCook said:

Same here. My defense is fairly solid, but prone to the occasional brain fart, and we give up some high-quality chances as a result. I've also had some issues with high-pressing sides cutting off our passing lanes and making counters difficult. Seems like I'm either winning 5-1 or losing 1-0. But it's a lot more entertaining football than what I had been playing, and with better players, it should improve.

Switched from a 4-1-4-1 to the 4-4-1-1, as I found my striker was getting isolated, and not bringing the runners into play. Seems to be working better offensively, but still defensively vulnerable. Thinking about taking the pressing down a notch, and replacing it with tighter marking. Also experimenting with using Be More Disciplined since my team is a bit lacking in flair & vision.

[braddockmatt]

Really good Read that was engamohd !!

 

quick question. Do you use any OI ?? and also could you post what PI you give your players in your 4411 system ?

 

Also. How long did it take your team to get use to the way you now play ? I trying it out with my newcastle side, but 4 games in and we have lost every game quite comfortably. i've tweaked the instructions but to no luck.

any help would be great. this is how i'm setting up. 

Edited January 30, 2021 by braddockmatt

[RCCook]

Used this formation in my last 2 matches- a 2-2 away draw against Man United in the Champions League, followed by a 5-0 home demolition of an undefeated Bayern side:

 

 

[engamohd]

On 30/01/2021 at 16:25, braddockmatt said:

Really good Read that was engamohd !!

 

quick question. Do you use any OI ?? and also could you post what PI you give your players in your 4411 system ?

 

Also. How long did it take your team to get use to the way you now play ? I trying it out with my newcastle side, but 4 games in and we have lost every game quite comfortably. i've tweaked the instructions but to no luck.

any help would be great. this is how i'm setting up. 

Sorry for my late reply. I really don't use any OIs or PIs. Why are you using Overlap right TI?

[engamohd]

I have been missing my 2nd favourite formation, the 3-5-2, so I am using it currently in my Standard Liege save -second season-, going very well using the same ideals discussed here, barring a 3-0 demolition by a very much stronger Man City side

I remove the Regroup TI as per the opposition, and also change the BWM to support if I need to crank up the pressure.

Edited February 9, 2021 by engamohd

[engamohd]

On 30/01/2021 at 21:02, RCCook said:

Used this formation in my last 2 matches- a 2-2 away draw against Man United in the Champions League, followed by a 5-0 home demolition of an undefeated Bayern side:

 

 

Very nice job there 

I just beat Bayern 2-1 with Standard Liege!

Edited February 9, 2021 by engamohd

[Ruskin]

Good grief, do I hate seeing the AI line up in this formation.  My team unleashes hell on them for 89 minutes, getting nowhere.  And then lose 1-0 on some fluke set piece goal from the opponent!

[engamohd]

6 hours ago, Ruskin said:

Good grief, do I hate seeing the AI line up in this formation.  My team unleashes hell on them for 89 minutes, getting nowhere.  And then lose 1-0 on some fluke set piece goal from the opponent!

We do that regularly haha

[Christopher S]

10 hours ago, Ruskin said:

Good grief, do I hate seeing the AI line up in this formation.  My team unleashes hell on them for 89 minutes, getting nowhere.  And then lose 1-0 on some fluke set piece goal from the opponent!

Can confirm. Everytime I see a 4-4-1-1 from the opposing team I mentally prepare to get ****ed 0-1 after going 20-3 in shots and 64%-36% in possession. 

[RCCook]

11 hours ago, engamohd said:

We do that regularly haha

Same here. My starting AP has a 19 in free kicks; his backup has a 17, and both have high ratings in long shots. :)

[engamohd]

I won the champions league with Standard Liege, using this approach:

 

[JoOSTAR]

13 hours ago, engamohd said:

I won the champions league with Standard Liege, using this approach:

 

With the exact tactic a few posts above? Any PI's?

[engamohd]

1 hour ago, JoOSTAR said:

With the exact tactic a few posts above? Any PI's?

A slightly different variation, I will post it later when I am back home. PIs are Stay Wider on the CMs to help the flanks.

[engamohd]

15 hours ago, JoOSTAR said:

With the exact tactic a few posts above? Any PI's?

PIs are Stay Wider on the AP-S and CM-S, intended to give support to the flanks.

[daveb653]

How would you set this up with a 4-2(dm)-3-1, specifically with an SV as one of the DMS?

[dejarik]

I took Newcastle to fifth place in my first season there, using a system a lot similar to the original post. 
 

For the second season, my reputation will be high and teams will be more cautious. I’m thinking of having a version of the system that presses a bit higher, for games where I’m the clear favorite or where I’m behind - for instance by pushing the LoE and DL up by one, as well as having more aggressive wing backs (and maybe a DLPd and a B2B). Do you have any experiences with that sort of thing? Not changing the system when I’m down a goal feels wrong.

[engamohd]

6 hours ago, daveb653 said:

How would you set this up with a 4-2(dm)-3-1, specifically with an SV as one of the DMS?

Mind sharing what you did try?

[engamohd]

40 minutes ago, dejarik said:

I took Newcastle to fifth place in my first season there, using a system a lot similar to the original post. 
 

For the second season, my reputation will be high and teams will be more cautious. I’m thinking of having a version of the system that presses a bit higher, for games where I’m the clear favorite or where I’m behind - for instance by pushing the LoE and DL up by one, as well as having more aggressive wing backs (and maybe a DLPd and a B2B). Do you have any experiences with that sort of thing? Not changing the system when I’m down a goal feels wrong.

My remedy to that sort of problem is removing the Regroup and setting the LOE to standard, perhaps adding Counter pressing.

Further pressure could be achieved by an attacking mentality.

I rarely, if ever, make other changes than that.

Edited February 14, 2021 by engamohd