Defenders doing the opposite of what they should

[Patrick123]

During my last 7-8 matches my defenders (my entire team, really) is simply refusing to close down players. My last game is a perfect example; I tell my defenders to close down the oppositions striker (they were playing 4-5-1), takle him hard, etc. During the match he scored 3 goals because everytime he got the ball my defenders were miles away. By the time they had reached him, he had already tucked it behind my goakeeper.

Is there anything I can do about this? My CBs skill is not the problem, last year they came 1st and 3rd on the overall rating for defenders in the league.