What am I doing so wrong?

[bosque]

Context: I won Champions League two seasons in a row but with irregular run in the league. Now in the curren season I am losing far too easily against top teams.

This is the scheme (The only team instruction I use is low crosses because my strikers are not good in the air. I dont touch shape because I don't understand it and I don't want to mess with it. I use the mentality as a risk barometer and I change it according to the risk I am willing to take.)

I want to play a simple game, with few instructions, focusing in the atributes of the players and having a balanced, simple tactic. My idea is to draw matches because you don't lose if you don't concede. I have strong and inteligent defenders, not fast but not slow. To compensate that I use a very inteligent DM in front of them. To bring the ball from defence to midfield I use a MC(S) with the PPMs: Comes deep to get the ball, dictates tempo, tries killer balls often and likes to switch the ball to the other flank. Beside him I use a CM(A) to use the space in front of him and a DLF(S) to create space for the CM(A) and help bring the ball from midfield to attack. On the flanks I use a FB(A) who uses the space the IF(S) creates for him and a FB(S) who helps the DM cover the space left for the CM(A) when he bombs forward. Also, I use an IF(A) who is my goal scoring target. Nothing else. simple. And I make sure each player has the atributes to fulfill his task.

Now, the problem:

I am conceding a lot, and I want to concede 1 or no goal per game. I dont care if I draw but I want to be competitive or a hard team to beat. Also, I can’t even score against even or better teams. And they completely bully me.

Spoiler

Goals are coming in all colors and shapes so I can’t see a patern. In the analysis tab it says that I am conceding assist from my right side. So, maybe I need to drop my FB(A) to FB(S)?

Here are the defensive atributes of my players:

Here are the suporting atributes of my player:

And here are the attacking atributes:

 

I am not good at reading games so I don’t know what am I doing wrong. I don’t know how I win the two Champions League in a row. Maybe because of the simplicity and the good player selection. But now I am losing control and I don’t know why. Any help will be apreciated.

[craigd84]

personally i would switch the IF's, right to A and left to S.

 

Reason being is that your DLF will open space for the IF on the left but you also have your left CM set to A... so the IF and CM will occupy the same spot.

[Dr. Hook]

53 minutes ago, craigd84 said:

personally i would switch the IF's, right to A and left to S.

 

Reason being is that your DLF will open space for the IF on the left but you also have your left CM set to A... so the IF and CM will occupy the same spot.

yeh this is a good spot- In terms of defense,  you are taking some risks on your flanks being essentially a team that is playing up the middle. It looks balanced on paper, though. The thing to do here, is if you have a little time, go back and watch the goals scored against you, but go back to the moment the opposition takes control of the ball and watch how they are moving it on you, and how they are getting in on your goal. There is a problem somewhere, and if you view enough goals, you should see a pattern to how attacks are built against you. The key, though, is to go far enough back in time to watch how your team is handling the transition from attacking to defending in particular. Pause the match at various points to and look at the space you are conceding also. Using the 2d view is really good for this. 

[Atarin]

6 hours ago, Dr. Hook said:

yeh this is a good spot- In terms of defense,  you are taking some risks on your flanks being essentially a team that is playing up the middle. It looks balanced on paper, though. The thing to do here, is if you have a little time, go back and watch the goals scored against you, but go back to the moment the opposition takes control of the ball and watch how they are moving it on you, and how they are getting in on your goal. There is a problem somewhere, and if you view enough goals, you should see a pattern to how attacks are built against you. The key, though, is to go far enough back in time to watch how your team is handling the transition from attacking to defending in particular. Pause the match at various points to and look at the space you are conceding also. Using the 2d view is really good for this. 

This x1000.

[herne79]

Since you won those two UCLs, what have you changed?  Tactics?  Personnel?  Club reputation?  Something is different.  Did you always have these defensive issues or have they just started?

Lyanco is a weak link in central defence and having both central defenders with so much aggression may cause issues as aggression will get your players stepping up to make challenges which in central defenders can be dangerous.  Especially if one of them can't tackle to top division / UCL standards.

You may also be conceding too much space near your own box when defending - using a player at DMC will push your defensive line deeper and you're starting from the neutral Standard mentality.

You're not a million miles away as evidenced by your 2xUCL wins, so small tweaks not major changes are all that's needed.  Start by sorting out your defensive issues.

[bosque]

1 hour ago, herne79 said:

Lyanco is a weak link in central defence

Why is he a weak link? is it something in his atributes?

1 hour ago, herne79 said:

using a player at DMC will push your defensive line deeper and you're starting from the neutral Standard mentality.

I often find my team too deep which makes it hard to transition quickly when we recover the ball. I will definetely take atention to that.

9 hours ago, Dr. Hook said:

you are taking some risks on your flanks being essentially a team that is playing up the middle.

Is my right flank the one I am taking risks? Because of the IF(S) who can't cover the FB(A)?

 

Thank you all for the answers. I will watch the games and try to spot issues. I'll be back 

[Geordieboy52]

I am currently tweaking a similar tactic (position-wise) and when I found that we were getting caught on the counter attack too much, I looked at tweaking some roles.  I play a BWM role as DM (I am sure Kranvitter has the skillset for this) and a Carrilero (Tom Davies, looks as though he could be a pretty great fit for that too, although it may negate his attacking influence [not sure how you're using him]).  This way they both sit a little more, meaning that if we do lose the ball, we're not immediately out numbered.  I am in no way an expert, just going from what I have found successful so far.

[Dr. Hook]

1 hour ago, bosque said:

Is my right flank the one I am taking risks? Because of the IF(S) who can't cover the FB(A)?

 

I would say on both sides for different reasons. On the right it is probably more extreme because of what you mentioned, but then you have a CM/S over there who should provide some cover. Still, a lot space over there, and on the left, your IF/A and CM/A are pushing up, so if your FB/S gets a bit forward and the ball gets past him, gobs of space. This is not necessarily bad as all systems have inherent risks with them. Instead of the CM/S, you might look at the new Carrilero role which is designed to provide more cover wide. That or a BWM/S which is what I've used before the Carrilero role came out. This can make some more cover for your attack FB.