Opponent level suddenly higher?

I was doing an LA Galaxy save which I finished about a month ago. Then I started a Wrexham save using mainly a B team and academy players in the cup games. I noticed that suddenly I am struggling against the CPU. I normally play in world class, but now it feels like I am playing in legendary. Was there a change in the gameplay lately? I’ve even adjusted the difficulty to professional but even then I am struggling against Bolton, Sunderland, etc teams that I used to beat 4-1. The cpu is sliding every time they get and I can barely dribble around opponents like I used to. Any tips?