For some reason the second season things are not so great. There are a few teams that seem to have the antidote for the tactic, including Sunderland. They have more possession, more chances and usually at least draw with me in games against them, although I have much better players. While the first season using this tactic was great, including a high ratio of goals, the second season needs some tweaks.
I am not doing things differently, yet my strike force have around 40 goals less than the previous season, although I got Dybala for example, and an absolutely improved team. And I would expect my second line of players being City to win matches against medium and small teams in the EPL, but I got a **** of a lot of draws in the second season, and some losses.
Sunderland and Liverpool definitely have the antidote for the tactic in my save in the second season, although I got 2 of the best players from Liverpool.
I changed the tactic with another one from mr. L test thread, and I got instant results, including a win against Liverpool, although the CCs are still too little given the team I have. For now I will keep both, and wait for further tests from mr. L. I kind of miss how the Sicilian Defense V5 worked in FM 16.