Good point there.
From experience, going defensive and counter has a far higher chance to progress through in events when matches are against NPCs.
This is a vs real manager event, so it all depends on the opponent’s tactics. As always when it is a single-tie match like a final, it may be better to keep it a tight game at 0-0 within the first 20-30 minutes and work out how to counter opponent’s orders accordingly afterwards than going gung-ho and need to chase a 2-3 goals deficit by conceding early. That probably applies even more for managers who have GK and attacking players with PK specialist when drawing is nearly as good as winning.