Well I'm obviously still running the V2 counter tactic. Its brilliant, and I've got a couple of matches I'm going to use to make a point for people who are struggling with this. This tactic works very well, but it's not totally plug and play in the sense that you have to be very alert during matches to what's happening. for example:
I've met Barcelona in the champions league semi finals (having only been expected to make it out of the group)
First match played away, it took them 4 minutes to get 1 CCC and 3 half chances. Dani Alves playing RW scored 2 minutes in. I've noticed everything was happening in the middle, so even though usually when I'm up against a 4-2-3-1 I go play wider and exploit the middle, I decided to try to play narrow. They stayed on those stats for the rest of the game and couldn't get even one more CCC.
View attachment 440711
Now on the home game I was in a good position, but still was worried. my fullbacks aren't very good defensively (Mallo and Grimaldo) but very good going forward, and letting Hugo Mallo deal with neymar was scaring me. So instead, I press them high up the pitch, with the overlap and exploting the flanks. The result was that their wingers barely got the ball as you can see, and even messi has a terrible rating. after 67 minutes I was 2-0 up, stopped the bombing fullbacks and went back to the narrow game. They took hold of the ball better but couldn't get anything going because of how the middle was so congested, and I hit them again on the break on the 90th minute.
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Now this arsenal game is again proof of the bombing full backs. They played a narrow 4-2-3-1 with no wingers and that's ideal for the full backs to add pressure on the opposing fullbacks and making sure any attempt at passing the ball for the opponents can only be in their half. As you can see, their strikers both barely even touch the ball. The average position analysis shows how they rarely left their own half, and their goal was caused by a bad back pass and goalkeeper error that really looked more like a match engine bug than anything else.
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A point to be made regarding both these matches is that the main player that needs to be stopped here (other than the AMC) is their playmaking MC. in both games (Fabregas first game, Xavi second game and Ramsey) I close him down always. It means he gets no time on the ball, forcing back passes and making sure their possession remains largely between their back four and their defensive CM. Also don't get lazy. If they make a sub, stop the game and give him OI. letting one player roam around with no specific attention while the rest of the team is guarded well is a bad move and good players will make you pay for it.
I've met Barcelona in the champions league semi finals (having only been expected to make it out of the group)
First match played away, it took them 4 minutes to get 1 CCC and 3 half chances. Dani Alves playing RW scored 2 minutes in. I've noticed everything was happening in the middle, so even though usually when I'm up against a 4-2-3-1 I go play wider and exploit the middle, I decided to try to play narrow. They stayed on those stats for the rest of the game and couldn't get even one more CCC.
View attachment 440711
Now on the home game I was in a good position, but still was worried. my fullbacks aren't very good defensively (Mallo and Grimaldo) but very good going forward, and letting Hugo Mallo deal with neymar was scaring me. So instead, I press them high up the pitch, with the overlap and exploting the flanks. The result was that their wingers barely got the ball as you can see, and even messi has a terrible rating. after 67 minutes I was 2-0 up, stopped the bombing fullbacks and went back to the narrow game. They took hold of the ball better but couldn't get anything going because of how the middle was so congested, and I hit them again on the break on the 90th minute.
View attachment 440707View attachment 440706View attachment 440705View attachment 440704
Now this arsenal game is again proof of the bombing full backs. They played a narrow 4-2-3-1 with no wingers and that's ideal for the full backs to add pressure on the opposing fullbacks and making sure any attempt at passing the ball for the opponents can only be in their half. As you can see, their strikers both barely even touch the ball. The average position analysis shows how they rarely left their own half, and their goal was caused by a bad back pass and goalkeeper error that really looked more like a match engine bug than anything else.
View attachment 440710View attachment 440709View attachment 440708View attachment 440703
A point to be made regarding both these matches is that the main player that needs to be stopped here (other than the AMC) is their playmaking MC. in both games (Fabregas first game, Xavi second game and Ramsey) I close him down always. It means he gets no time on the ball, forcing back passes and making sure their possession remains largely between their back four and their defensive CM. Also don't get lazy. If they make a sub, stop the game and give him OI. letting one player roam around with no specific attention while the rest of the team is guarded well is a bad move and good players will make you pay for it.
Hope it continues.