Struggle against compact 352

[ThomasHK1979]

I always struggle against teams who play a formation like Monza here on the screenshot. I tried to play very wide, but nothing seem to work.
Many small teams in Serie A play 352 and my team always struggle as well as my wingers. Inputs ?

[avenger22]

The first formation isn't that strong in defense, just try to play with both WB(A) it is very important they will arrive and will find acres of space wide, the 3-1-4-2 with 1 DM and 2 CM is harder to attack cause the CM shift to protect the wide space but still 2 WB in attack with look for overlaps in both flanks, also try focus play on flanks on both of them and IF(s) so you attack in 2-3-5 with wingbacks attacking wide you will overload them and 5vs5 in the back

[Cloud9]

7 hours ago, ThomasHK1979 said:

I always struggle against teams who play a formation like Monza here on the screenshot. I tried to play very wide, but nothing seem to work.
Many small teams in Serie A play 352 and my team always struggle as well as my wingers. Inputs ?

When they're set up defensively like this you can take advantage of your IWB to patiently break them down. Playing wide can help with this but I'd look to have players who can pin their defenders wide to open up gaps in their structure. 

• There's no natural player looking to pin a defender wide on the left flank.
• Lower tempo to give yourself time to pick the lock.
• "Hit Crosses Early" can help you catch defenders out before they have time to set up. That can be a nice alternative to "Work the ball into the box."
• An attacking runner from midfield, for example the CM(a), can then attack the gaps you've created. The MEZ(s) will swing wide by nature.