eFootball PES 2021 Discussion Thread (CONSOLES)

[Bonano]

Oh in the match menu... What a strange place to put it! But thanks I'll have a look there

 

[aderow]

I think it's a great place to put it. I also think they should have put it in the main menu as well.

 

[PESV]

Cool, I will give Flamengo versus Fluminese a shot soon. Just out of curiousity to see if there are any good games in that matchup, and if so, how to get there.

Finally, I did it, I won with Fluminese against Flamingo. 1-0 in the 93rd minute.

As a rule, I do not allow myself to switch to another fixture, until I win. This one took me exactly four months and around a hundred matches 😅 (14 minutes each).

Coming from Fiorentina vs Atalanta, this was a different beast to tackle and it took me a good while to become adjusted to the Brazilian attack-oriented and opportunistic style of play, quite the opposite of the Serie A.

Next to the field being very stretched, probably the hardest thing to adapt to was player positioning. My players seemed to only have eyes for the ball and as soon as it came near, they would jump towards it and this made switching players very hard in defense because it was so unpredictable.

By adjusting my team strategy a bit, making sure players stuck to their men, and pushing my defense more to the middle line, I slowly gained a bit more control. I was now able to micromanage my players' positions just enough with the usual continuous dance between covering, pressure, teammate press, and super cancel, yet more intense than I was already accustomed to on legendary Fuma. Being a derby match no mistakes are allowed. I've also learned to integrate the standing tackle (double X) a bit more in my play; if it would mean I could prevent a player from breaking out into open space I did what I needed to do.

And open space there is—a lot. From the get-go, these games were strikingly more end-to-end, which initially felt quite alien and superficial. Still, after I got to grips with the defending a bit more and re-learned to effectively cover passing lanes by continuously managing positions and asserting pressure, the game became more balanced, and the extra space became a joy when on the ball, especially after regaining the ball from a forced sloppy pass and catching their defense off guard.

After I got accustomed to the Brazilian mindset, a multitude of new situations would arise. My attackers show good intuition in their runs and their dribbling and finishing are at times phenomenal. I can spot a run on the other side of the pitch and pump the ball into space and my winger would have a very good chance of receiving it, bursting past their opponent, and going one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Very direct, free-flowing, and full of flair.

Why did it take me so long, besides the adjustment period? The fact that it's a rival match had a lot to do with it. As soon as you somewhat get the upper hand, the CPU will pull out some extra magic and has a million ways to get back at you, and it will show no mercy. Also, when their striker gets one in, you are almost sure one or two goals will soon follow from his foot. I've had to absorb a lot of embarrassing losses, and that's my other rule, I shall not quit in the middle of a match, and used those "I will lose anyway" matches to try out some different tactics.

Overall, this journey turned out to be quite an adventure and immensely enjoyable after overcoming the initial shock. I am not sure if my next fixture should be a derby match but who knows? Suggestions are welcome. I plan to post the full match video at some later point as a reply to this post. It was nothing special, the goal might have been my only chance and I came away very lucky on a few occasions. Nevertheless, a win is a win and I feel I truly earned this one. And a last-minute winner... couldn't be better. The animation at the end of the game where my players would dive on top of each other, yeah, that resonated perfectly with me.