I still say the point is valid. This game (at least in my limited experience, even though all of it is with a big talent edge) doesn't produce many troll results if the talent gap is 1* or better. Which Bayern over Porto fits that bill (even though Bayern were missing big players, they had great players taking their place).

I am in season 4. During that time I have played over 80 league games. Out of which maybe 2-3 times I have lost to lesser sides with 2 dubious draws. That is a 95% success rate with the kind of advantage Bayern has over the Bundesliga.

In the CL I have not lost a single game except for the 2 finals in 2 full campaigns and a 3rd group stage. I had a draw in game day 5 this year but it was my fault for not changing my lineup back to normal or attending the game and still controlled the possession and shots on the road. The 2 finals were against much more even opposition. One was about .5 points below me and eeked out an extra time win. The other was 1 point better than me and barely won while I won possession and threatened all game.

The first 2 years of the cup I had a serious advantage in talent. I took over after the 1st round year one (lucky my team survived). Then I slowly but massively improved my team. I slipped through round 2 barely but by the playoff round it was unfair and I ran everyone over until a very tough final saw me score 2 in extra time. Year 2 I had sold off all but 14 players at the end of the season, kept maybe 8 good players and the rest scrubs. As soon as the draw was done I bought up all the most expensive Nordgens on the market (most of whom still make up my core) and I was 1-2* above the rest of the cup and cruised to victory.

But since then I have played the cup straight and have not made it out of the round of 32. Both eliminations came to better teams and could have gone the other way but didn't.




Now after all that I am willing to admit that luck could be on my side. I may end up seeing real troll results on a wider scale. But to date I can hardly argue with talent vs results.

The real argument in my opinion is with the player ratings. Particularly at CM/CDM/GK and with the skills of the GK's being the same as outfield players making it impossible to figure out what to train for your keeper. What on earth does finishing, shooting, crossing, etc have to do with playing GK?

How hard would it be to change the keeper ratings basing them on clean sheets, save %, goals allowed, and difficulty of saves? Or change offense (just for keeper) for a GK set including diving, reactions, composure, goal kicks, and ball playing?

Also can anyone tell me if the height of a keeper matters to the sim? It sure does in reality. Part of what makes Courtois so great is that he is not just tall but long. He makes difficult saves look much easier than a 6'0" keeper who likely gets beat.