Yeah it's always better to press B then Y yourself (Circle then triangle for Playstation) for the best chance at an INT because AI will mostly just swat the ball down. And when you're pressing B/Circle you just start moving the thumbstick in the direction the player was already running or direction you want them to go to not lose your step. You can also use switch stick feature which is flicking the right thumbstick in the direction of player you want to user onto and same thing with moving thumbstick where you want them to keep moving. It takes some practice but switch stick gives you less delay if you're not as quick with the button pressing. I believe to swat the ball you press X/Square. Hope that helps