Ah, around level 8-10 (depends on server) the competitiveness increases. That was a problem for my team too and costed me some nerves.

What usually helps in such situations:
- Check if some players of my team have constantly bad ratings. If so, I try to replace them.
- Check if some formations that worked well in the past, do not work anymore. If so, try to vary your formations and tactics slightly.
Example:
- Your team lost with 4-3N-2W-1 vs. 3-5-2 flat. This tactics does not work for me, too. I think the match engine does not like that the lone striker is covered by 3DCs. I changed my tactics vs. that system to 4-4-2 with attack over the flanks to exploid the lack of fullbacks and have 2 ST "only" twice covered.

Some other things I saw while playing:
- Standard situations are important in topeleven. I saw many matches where close matches were decided by FKs or corners. Assigning good players to these roles can decide important matches.
- And some results like your 1-4 loss with 4-5V-1 vs. 3DC-DMC-2MC-3W-ST one has to take this game with a grain of salt. Solely based on the formations and statistics it is hard to explain.

Good luck with your team.