Hi, I recently got Pro Evolution Soccer 5 and have played it a frequently. I am playing the English League as Manchester United, I first played on 2 stars but found it way too easy and it took very little thought, strategy or creativity to score goals, or to defend.

Increasing the difficulty to 3 stars made it extremely difficult at first, and took time to adapt to. Now I have been able to step up my play I have been playing the English League again and have been doing well.

Nevertheless, I still have trouble, as the title of this post describes, creating anything on this harder difficulty as the opponent tends to defend so tightly I can hardly pass around. However this isn't always the case. Some opponents I steamrollered, such as Chelsea who I beat 8 - 0! The game seems very inconsistent; I can beat some teams with little trouble, yet others I can make no chances. An example is my match against Arsenal, end result being 0 - 0 and I literally had 1 or 2 shots on goal (zero in the first half).

I just can't get my players forward and regularly lose the ball when trying to do so. On 3 stars difficulty the opponent's defenders are incredibly difficulty to get past, it is literally impossible to dribble past them, or make passes close to them or to make a put a through-ball past them. It is very difficult to get a man on the wing and make a good cross, because they defenders are always on you.

I'm not complaining, because it is fun when it is a challenge. But I have too much trouble creating anything. Are there any tips anyone can give to improve my game, or any explanation for the inconsistencies in the difficulty. Like I said, I thrashed Chelsea yet cannot even get shots on net against Arsenal.

Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated.

This game is extremely *bleep*ed and frustrating. At first, I was able to score goals and defend well on the 3 star difficulty but now it is just *bleep*ING IMPOSSIBLE. After my victory against the team before Arsenal, it has become SO *bleep*ING HARD. I literally can't get ONE shot on net! WHY?!!

This game is so severely imbalanced that it's not even funny. One minute, I'm beating Chelsea (WHICH ARE THE BEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE) 8 - 0 and next minute I can't even put ONE GOAL IN against some of the worst teams. This is MADNESS and is so frustrating. It is impossible to dribble past even one defender, LITERALLY, and it is so hard to pass around because their defenders are like beasts bearing down upon you and taking the ball in an instant. Most of the time they just bash you off the ball and take it, especially in the box. Just as I'm trying to get a shot in, the defender barges you off the ball and you've lost it. It's impossible to get a good shot on net in the box.

WHY IS IT LIKE THIS?

Just try and keep hold of the ball as much as possible. Chances will eventually come your way.

i think the key is to be patient. u cant pass ur way up the field and expect to score everytime. most of all u need to practice too---work on things like keeping possession, switching the play etc. think of the argentina goal in the world cup vs serbia n montenegro. 22 passes before the goal? a thing of beauty. i played the premiership on five stars with no reloads whatever the result was and came second in the league (chelsea top). we both had 91 points if i remember and so i lost out on goal difference. needless to say i havent picked it up since lol.

I don't like how PES 5 tries to make you play perfect passing football all the time...playing as Classic Holland it is pretty easy but playing with the default master league players makes it near impossible! If a real manager was given that set of players he would play long ball Wimbledon style football but in PES that isn't an option. It is so frustrating because I prefer to play the late 90s Man Utd style...lots of wing play, quick counter attacks and plenty crosses into the box but the game is designed so that the opposition all too easily clear your long balls and crosses.
I find it so hard to score goals this way. I know the obvious solution is PLAY DIFFERENTLY! But I can't...I haven't got the patience to play perfect football and in real life only about 1 in 30 English teams do but that doesn't mean they struggle.