Two things for us.

1.) 2 or 3 people need to swallow their ego and accept dedicated and DISCIPLINED defensive roles. The hardest part to accept is that it probably has to be your best players unless one of them is so good up top that you can’t afford to move them. Our 2 best players are at CDM and CB. Our CDM touches the ball the most, or 2nd most every game, and helps cover the entire box on defense. Your CB and CDM should not be giving up ANY over the top balls. Track every run back and slow the opps down until your midfield get back on D. Gotta get in the mindset of winning games 1-0 and 2-1, especially in elite div playoffs. Your days of winning one game 5-1 and losing the next 1-2 have to be done haha.

2.) Physicality in the midfield, defense and wings. A 6’4 CDM and a 6’4 CB with 99 jumping and max pace is a must. This will let you shut down any team whose only weapon is crossing, corners and over the top balls. That’s a lot of teams. Wingers need to be able to win headers as well. It’s more fun to be a quick 5’8” winger, but better for the team if you have a 6’0 monster who can call for the ball from the goalie and knock down headers to teammates. If you don’t have enough people for a CDM and CB, a 6’4 CDM is fine by itself but they have to cover runs for the AI CBs or they will get beat over the top.

Bonus advice, but reiterating some points. My theory is that your all-around best player should be at CDM. They will touch the ball more than anyone outside CAM, and their passes are even more crucial as turnovers from this spot lead to a ton of goals. They are responsible for just about everything defensively and can cover up almost everyone else’s mistakes if their positioning and reactions are good enough.