The Official Game Status Update Thread

[Nentsia]

This experience will help you demolish the AI. if you couple this defensive strategy with some special attacking players, or speedy wingers, you could have a deadly strategy

Me and Blacs did a round with me being Torino (<3) and Blac was Borussia Monchengladbach. The defenders were doing okay-ish but still allowing Lars Stindl to snag a few goals per game. So much for Catenaccio. I have already found the source of the errors that allowed Stindl to score. In our final game we therefore managed to stay 0-0 until like the 70th minute or something. Then Blac replaced Stindl with another striker who scored literally twice in a row the moment he came on the pitch. Probably a lapse in concentration of my defenders. This is Torino after all, not Juventus.

I ran some more experimental games against Blac's team, observing some defensive movements after I eliminated the source of many goals, and I spent a lot of time approaching the game as a typical Italian pragmatist: blunt the opponent's attacks and exploit their defensive weaknesses to the fullest. And all of a sudden: Torino wins. It would've been a nice and clean 2-0 victory if BMG hadn't scored a late goal in the 91st minute from a free kick.

Show ContentSpoiler:

As you can see, although there is the usual 42% ball posession on my side, the play has improved. 70% pass completion (against a dreaded 59% I had earlier), a clear cut scoring chance (I get those quite often in repeated test games), and of course just as many shots on target as my opponent. The numbers confirm my intended game plan: effectiveness.

In the 39th minute, when I instructed my players to take a little more risk, hoping to score a goal late in the 1st half, Belotti gave this beauty of a pass to my striker Ciro Immobile. Immobile rushed in a straight line towards the goal and fired it into the right corner past the goalkeeper. In the second half I instructed the team to withdraw deeper into its own half and prey on the counter attack.

Show ContentCiro Immobile goal:

In the 60th minute, although playing much more conservatively, Torino found another opportunity to exploit the spaces left by BMG.

Show ContentBelotti Goal:

Belotti got the ball in his feet from my reserve playmaker (the other was injured early in the game). Belotti turned right, where there was enormous space, then cut inside again - putting his marker on the wrong foot, and placed it brilliantly in the far corner of the goal.

What I liked about this new approach, where I focus on exploiting the weaknesses rather than thinking up a tactic of my own, is that it helps the team set up dangerous attacks throughout the game. It makes the game more tense, and obviously results in goals. The defence was solid throughout this match. There was one moment of panic when one of BMG's players hit the crossbar, but other than that, their offense was completely blunted by Torino.