I don't really see how it's an issue with my defending if I limit the COM to having one shot on target in the entire 90 minutes. That's usually considered extremely tight defending. So if they have one shot, usually not an easy chance either, and smash it perfectly into the bottom corner then I don't see what else I can do. What am I supposed to do if my keeper virtually never saves anything? Consider I'm poor at defending until you can limit the game to zero shots on goal? That virtually never happens in football.
I just don't get it with the shooting either. I've counted that in my last ten matches I've hit the post eleven times. And like I said, I just don't get it.
Obviously if you're only allowing a single shot on target then that's solid defending on your part. But that's not what I was replying to, as you said that the "COM scores almost every shot they take."
I thought we were talking about an issue that transcends a single match, and I assumed that you meant you weren't allowing a single shot on target
every game. If you're actually only allowing only a single shot on target every game, then a) please give me your defending tips; and b) then yeah, that's really shitty luck that the CPU has such a high on-target conversion rate against you. That's simply not my own experience.
About shooting, I really don't know what to say, as I typically always lead the league in scoring in my CMs (though granted I've played with decent to great teams - Chelsea, Dortmund, and currently Schalke).
This game favors attacking play so you really shouldn't be struggling to score to the extent you indicate. If you're getting off a good number of shots but not scoring, I'd say that it indicates that your shot selection isn't great, and that maybe you're rushing your attack. Maybe fight your first instinct to shoot and do an extra move - a pass, a dribble, whatever - to improve your chances. If you think there's nothing wrong with your shot selections, then maybe you simply have issues with your aiming. Maybe try
decreasing your shot error slider just to experiment and see if that's the problem.
All I can say is that my experience is more like what DarthKebab suggested - there are moments, phases of matches, or even entire matches, that you just can't stop the AI. But these are only a small part of the overall experience.
And these times when the CPU plays so well, I see them as a result, not of scripting or "momentum," but of a) playing a team whose players are on form; b) penalties - whatever they are, we don't really know - due to what we pick during press conferences; c) home/away advantages (if there actually are any; I'm not 100% on this one); and d) CPU tactics (this one is huge that many people don't properly adjust to and then just call it cheating).
Then I think the PC guys have said that within the code they've found pre-match modifiers for how the CPU will perform. I don't know how those work, or whether it's actually true that these modifiers exist.
This is how the game simulates variety within CM. Personally I don't have a problem with any of them, though I do agree that the difficulty spikes in this year's game are a bit much, and that when the CPU does go into "god" mode, it feels quite unfair. That said,
overall I don't experience your issues to the regularity and degree that you indicate.
I don't think the game cheats. I just think that some weaknesses in the defensive system combined with the game's difficulty spikes create some problems. I also think these problems can be overcome, for the most part at least.
Yes, FIFA has it's moments where the game fucks you over, but if you want to play a game that's actually designed to fuck you over at pretty much every moment, play Dark Souls 2. Going back to FIFA after a few days of DS2 is like a nice stroll in the park.