We are back with our latest tactic article. I tested out the highly rated 4231 Moukoko/4231 Krynz. The creator claimed it scored 182 Bundesliga goals for him on his Dortmund save.
He hasn’t attempted to reinvent the wheel, but I thought I would try to recreate his results with BVB.
As usual, I simmed a whole season, and just for the sake of comparison, I also used Dortmund as my test team. I also used a slightly updated database, which means some of the summer signings are in the squad. I made no tactical changes or transfers.
How is the tactic set up?
In truth, the formation is not revolutionary. I mean, what revolutionary tactical setup can actually be successful on FM25? Not many. It is a 4-2-3-1 formation using an attacking mentality.
Judging by the name of the tactic, it was designed to get the best out of the centre forward, whose role is an advanced forward. Behind the central striker are two inside forwards on support duty and an attacking midfield on attack sandwiched in between.
As is usually the case with successful 4231 tactics, the team has two defensive midfielders. In this case, they are on support duty. They are in front of two full-backs on attack, who flank two ball-playing defenders. In goal is a sweeper keeper on defend.
There is nothing crazy about this setup. The fact that the two full-backs are on attack and the centre-backs are the only players on defend duty suggests that this tactic is attacking, which is why it is expected to produce goals galore.
How did the tactic perform?
The team were predicted to finish second place in the table. However, they won the Bundesliga, although only courtesy of a superior goal difference to the league’s dominant force, Bayern Munich.
They also had the best attack, scoring 82 goals and the best defence, conceding 27 times. Bayern were runners-up in both these categories.
Dortmund went the whole season unbeaten on home soil in the Bundesliga, recording an impressive 15 wins and two draws. It was the joint-best home record. Unsurprisingly, Bayern matched BVB’s points tally on home soil but not their goal difference.
Our team also had the best away record, but this tactic produced poor away form. A record of winning eight, drawing two and losing seven is not a great result. It seems more like the loss tally of a midtable team.
The team also won the DFB Pokal but exited the Champions League at the last-16 stage to Manchester City, which is not a disgrace considering the opposition.
Which players performed best using this tactic?
With the tactic designed to get the best out of the advanced forward, it is no surprise that star striker Serhou Guirassy was the team’s top scorer with 27 goals and three assists.
The only other player who was close to being prolific in the team was Donyell Malen, who scored 15 from a right-wing position and provided eight assists.
Versatile attacking midfielder Giovanni Reyna played in all three positions behind the central striker, scoring nine goals and producing six assists.
The player who the tactic is named after, Youssoufa Moukoko, scored eight goals and produced four assists in 26 appearances, with his appearances split between playing on the left flank and also as a central forward.
Defensive players Emre Can and Remy Bensebaini scored six times during the campaign. Meanwhile, Julien Duranville, Julian Brandt, Niklas Sule and Karim Adeyemi scored five goals apiece.
Brandt’s and Adeyemi’s goalscoring return were disappointing, as both are talented attacking players. However, Adeyemi topped the charts for assists, creating an impressive 16 goals.
The team’s next-highest tally of assists came from on-loan full-back Yan Couto, who got 11 assists and scored three goals. Brandt was the only other notable player when it comes to assists, as he created seven goals.
The players’ overall season ratings were steady, with Adeyemi and Guirassy, the two highest-rated players who featured regularly, scoring season ratings of 7.15 and 7.14, respectively. Once again, these are not the highest ratings we have seen on our tactic testings.
Our conclusion on the tactic
Unfortunately, I didn’t get anywhere near the same level of success as the creator did using this tactic. Maybe my expectations were too high of it, as somebody who has used and tested lots of the best tactics on FM25.
The results the tactic produced were nothing special to be honest. Our goals for tally were decent but not extraordinary. The fact that the team suffered seven defeats away from home was disappointing.
I have also tested this tactic out on my personal save with an excellent team, but I only used it for a few games, and it was decent. To be honest, though, it won’t be a tactic that I will be using on a long-term basis.
Have you ever used 4231 Moukoko OP by Krynz. If you have, let us know our thoughts on the tactic
