The other manager came late in the game. Auto-sub did not work.
3DC is enough. 3DC can even be used against 2ST and 2 wingers (for example, in the case of facing a 4-4-2 hexagon). It is not only 3DC. There are two lines of defense: 3DC + 4M. This is how it works in football, and it works like this in this game too. This may not be evident to you because you use another approach when setting formations to be used as counters; your approach is for defensive and counter-attacking which required a lot of players at the back, while I use different types of approaches, using styles that you have not learned, tested or convinced of. I have tested this set of tactics that I have used a lot of times against 4-4-2, and it never failed as such before in this game. I never lost or drawn against a 4-4-2 with this set of tactics before this particular match. In this one, the 3DC and the 4M all act as defenders; there are 2 lines of defense. I marked the MR (he was even doubly marked; the left-sided DC and the ML can mark him). The MR got a high rating because of his assist from corner. What happened here is another anomaly.