PES United - Season 6 Update
The sixth and final update of my PES2021 Master League with PES United. It has been such an enjoyable Master League save and thanks to everyone on this thread for following or commenting on my story. Hopefully my final update does it all justice.
We had a pretty quiet Summer, adding a little bit of quality to what was already a really competitive squad. Our only two signings were striker Ugalde Arce from Levante and Fabio Carvalho who arrived from Leicester City.
PES Konami Super Cup
The curtain raiser of the season saw us face Dynamo Kiev in the domestic Super Cup.
It was the one trophy that had evaded us but I was determined for that to change as we faced our big domestic rivals.
We scored an early opening goal before Ugalde Arce came off the bench to add a second goal on his debut. Job done and a great way to start the season.
Konami PEU League - 2025/26
We started the season bidding for a third consecutive league title. The last two campaigns had seen us go toe to toe with Dynamo Kiev in title races that stretched to the last few games of the season. I was very much expecting the same thing this time around and prepared myself for another slog of a season where nothing but our best would be enough, how wrong could I be? The answer was very!
The quality in the league has unfortunately dropped off considerably since I first started the save. High rated players from other teams in the league have either moved on or retired, with the COM teams just not replacing the original quality in the squads.
As a result, we won the league rather comfortably with 8 games to spare and managed to go the whole season unbeaten. Towards the end of the season we were basically playing our B Team, saving our energy for the Champions League.
Our new signing, Ugalde Arce, was the star of the show. The Costa Rican scored 34 goals as we took the league by storm.
As you can see, Dynamo Kiev had an awful season along with some of the other sides who have typically challenged for the title.
PEU Konami Cup
We navigated most rounds of the domestic cup fairly easily, using our second string for the most part and coming through our two legged ties with quite a high aggregate victory.
The final saw us come up against Shakhtar Donetsk, who are probably the second best team in the league on paper despite their league form.
The final itself was a really poor game from us. We struggled to create any credible chances and anything that we did in or around the box just didn’t seem to work. Shakhtar had a couple of really good chances and but for the form of Ivan in goal for us, they could have easily been two nil up. Then, in the 82nd minute, they won a free kick just outside our box. I usually find that commanding your wall to jump is enough to block 99% of free kicks on PES21, but not this time.
Maycon’s right footed effort curled straight in to the top corner and Ivan had no chance. Ultimately, it was too little too late and probably about what we deserved based on our performance. We lost 1-0 and Shakhtar won their first domestic cup title.
The cynical part of me thinks there was some classic PES scripting at play in the final. We had it so good all season that it just felt a bit odd how we suddenly struggled to string any passes together? I do wonder if this was the PES Gods way of creating a level playing field and not letting us have it all our way for one match 😂 …but that being said, Shakhtar were the better team.
UEFA Champions League
The Champions League was probably my main priority before the start of the season. We had won the Europa League in my fourth season, but this was the big one that every club dreams of winning.
We were given a relatively straightforward group and faced Besiktas, CSKA Moscow and Hibernian. I fielded the second string for the most part, as we concentrated on our league form in the early parts of the season. We finished top, comfortably qualifying with a game to spare.
By the time the knockout stages had arrived, the league title was pretty much a formality. As a result, we fielded a weakened team in the league and saved our best 11 for the Champions League.
We faced Inter Milan in the R16, securing a 5-2 win at home in the first leg and a 4-0 win in the return leg. A 9-2 aggregate win put us firmly in the quarter final.
The quarter final draw could not have been more difficult as we were paired against Barcelona. They edged a very even first half in the home leg and managed to score just before half time. Thankfully, Afena Gyan equalised in the second half and we went to the Nou Camp with the game firmly in the balance. The second leg was one of the most nerve wrecking PES matches that I have played in recent years. It felt like one wrong move or position and they were in. We kept it tight and then mid-way through the second half managed to take the lead thanks to a brilliant finish from Ugalde Arce. We held on and we were in to our second consecutive Champions League Semi-Final.
We faced an old foe in Atletico Madrid, we faced them in the Group Stage last season and also beat them in the UEFA Super Cup Final. This was a bit more straightforward, we secured a comfortable 5-1 aggregate victory to book our place in the CL Final.
Our opponents were Tottenham, who had disposed of PSG in the semi-final and had quite an impressive squad. The match was tense but once it settled down and we began to play our usual game, there was no looking back. Afena Gyan opened the scoring in the 23rd minute before Aouchiche added a second just before half time. The second half was a containment job before Afena Gyan hit a late third to give us the biggest prize in European football
It was a fitting way to end my PES United save and the highlight of my six seasons of building this team.
Summary
Over six seasons we built a default squad into Champions League winners, dominating the domestic trophies in the process. Our final trophy haul included 9 major honours:
As we finished the final season, three players from our original default lineup remained with the team:
Agata (198 apps / 53 goals) - A crucial player in our first few seasons who still managed to chip in with some goals towards the end. A PES United legend and a huge part of our success.
Hitzfeld (191 apps / 2 goals) - Pretty much a regular up until the last season when he lost his place to Ramos at the heart of our defence.
Van Den Berg (103 apps / 1 goal) - A crucial squad player along the way who stepped up in big games when we needed to rotate the squad.
Our default and current squad above shows just how far we have come in that time.
In terms of the current crop of players, some stats include:
Record appearances - Coulibaly (214 apps / 3 goals) - Our captain and first ever signing at the start of season 2. Probably our most important player and leader of the team.
Record goalscorer - Augustin (189 apps / 89 goals) - Our first ever major signing and a real key to our success, his arrival changed us from a team who could challenge for trophies to one that could win them.
Next Steps
I think the ease at which we won the league has convinced me that this will be my last season with PES United. Coupled with winning the Champions League we have achieved more than I probably expected to.
As PES21 looks to be my main Football fix again (FIFA has issues and there is no sign of ML in eFootball) I will look to start a new ML save in the next few days.
My idea is that I will do similar saves in Asia and South America, aiming to win the Asian Champions League and Copa Libertadores to complete the 3 major honours.
I have already decided on my next team and I am opting to do the Asian save next. I’ll post a new update and start again once I have everything ready.
Hopefully you enjoyed following the last update as much as I enjoyed writing it 👍🏻
), however the game still felt tough as nails, our star J. Vargas got injured for two months after we had a good start in the Clausura so.. we ended pretty bad, even cause honestly the last 4-5 games felt really cursed "scripting" like, but I don't want to find excuses lol.
Now we will be playing the same tournament,, me with Estrela Azul and you with the Green Sleeping Giant, but in different years and different realities! I have a feeling you're gonna love the Brasileirao, and their unique Cup/League system! 
