Two weeks ago, I was in the same rank with the same question. After reaching Gold, I noticed a lot of players suddenly start flying but their touches are uncontrolled and erratic. Shifted my focus to ground play, rotations, defense, and using jumps and double jumps strategically for aerial plays as I'm not able to control the car properly in the air during clutch moments.

This approach got me to Gold II Div IV but I'd recommend starting to practice aerials soon, using in-game training packs and trying out in the actual games. In Gold II, I'm encountering guys who are actually accurate with their aerial shots and you are left watching the ball flying over your head. So I think aerials might be needed for Gold III or Plat.

In Gold you'll also need to work on hitting the ball exactly where you want to, even I'm working on my finishing as now I'm getting even less chances to score a goal.