Getting Done By Through Balls Between My CB's?

[LFCMatt7]

I'm playing as Liverpool at the moment and I'm getting done by through balls through the middle of my CB's even against much weaker teams. I setup like this:

Reina

Johnson Carragher Skrtel Insua

Mascherano Toulalan

Reina: Sweeper keeper (support)

Johnson: Full back (attack)

Carragher: Central defender

Skrtel: Central defender

Insua: Full back (support)

Mascherano: Defensive midfielder (defend)

Toulalan: Deep lying playmaker (support)

Anyone got any suggestions as how I can prevent conceding so many goals in this fashion.

Thanks in advance

[RT--]

Firstly, I have to say that I suspect that through balls to strikers are a little too effective in 10.1 (just as they were in 09, before the first couple of patches).

But, tactically...

The two obvious things are 1) your defensive line settings and 2) the amount of pressure you put on the opposition midfielders/playmakers who are playing the through balls.

1) You could consider using one of your DCs as a stopper, and the other as a cover player. Alternatively, using a strategy like 'control' will automatically make your defensive line sit a bit deeper, because it's designed to protect against counter-attacks. Or the most obvious, using the 'drop deeper' touchline shout against teams who have a particularly quick forward line. Carragher and Skrtel are not the quickest DCs, I'd imagine.

2) Are both Masch and Toulalan playing in the DMC position? I was going to suggest setting Mascherano to a ball-winner, because that would automatically bump his closing down up, but maybe you can't do that from DMC. Try and have a look at the through balls that are cutting your defence apart, and see where the pass is coming from - opposition players will find it much harder to play an effective through ball under pressure, so look to close down any danger-men quickly, either using opposition instructions, man marking, or something like that. You can always use the 'hassle opponents' shout, or set closing down a bit higher from the tactics creator.