It is not normal because nothing really counts towards the final results. The game suggests to play with at least 3 players in defense, I played with 2W and nothing happened. I played with 5 defenders (DL, 3DC, DR) and 5 DM (DML, 3DMC, DMR) during last season's challenge and scored a whole ****ing lot of goals like I was playing an attacking formation.
Do whatever you want disregarding the game suggestions and you would be fine. Unless you put too many players out of role you wouldn't even lose so much possession. If you think counter attack would work against 1 defender, you are wrong, it does nothing actually. If you think offside trap would work when you play in attack, you are wrong, it doesn't make any difference. Most of those "tactics" are just random numbers being thrown in a mixer, if something else is compensating they don't matter.
In fact, any type of tactics may or may not work with any other kind of formation.

I tested a few things last season while I concentrated only on winning the season challenge for 15T and almost ended up winning the league with 6 active managers. I decided to gift a few results to them by playing illegal formation and trying to get to the super league, otherwise I would have smashed them by playing with 0 players on the other side of the pitch and putting my goalkeeper as free kick and penalty kick taker.

The more time passes and the more ridiculous this game gets