This is a well known subject here in the forum. Now at level 32 I've been facing plus 1 level teams in the cup and champions league for 15-20 seasons. I've seen teams finish 9th and still level up in the past.
I know the game you're playing is coming to my screen soon, 10-15 seasons I expect. So with that in mind I have a team tanking in the lower levels to take over when my 1st team becomes boring. I can't see the point in trying to get excited about facing teams 40-60% better in the cups season after season whilst at the same time it becomes impossible to tank to change league opponents.
My advice to you? Start again from level 1. Park your 1st team and see if Nordeus ever makes changes to improve the game for teams at or near the top of their servers.