It was like this for a long time,manipulating is good to avoid teams +1/2 lvls,but no matter how much you'll lower your best 14 players,you'll not be placed only against teams near you quality.
For example,if you start the season with a team that have 30% quality based on best 14 players,your cup/ champions league draw will have teams between 30% and 90%.
Now,it depends also on what server you are,if you are "lucky" you can have manipulators in your competitions,or like in your case,strong -1 lvl