Discussion on the Current State of Gameplay

I am welcoming everyone to discuss their experiences with the gameplay on EA FC 25 as of late. My commentary here is being made solely on my experience and that which I've played in Ultimate Team. This is going to read like a rant and that will be because it is one. I am tired of the awful state of the game and the complete absence of engagement from EA on all the issues we're persistently plagued by and keep reporting to them, only for them to completely ignore us.

I'm going to get right into it and list some things that I encounter and experience in almost every game, so much so that it makes the experience of playing EA FC 25 wholly unpleasant and leaves me wondering why I picked up this series again. Please note that I'm not the best player in the world by any means, but I do consistently do okay in Champions Finals and Rivals (D2) and I am well aware of my shortcomings.

• The defending meta seems to be to run head-on in a straight line into the attacking player with the ball, without any care for nuance or intelligent defending or what the attacking player does, and simply bulldoze your way through them. Go through the back, it doesn't matter, because the referee won't award a foul. I get fouled ALL. THE. TIME, yet I rarely get given free kicks. What's more, I concede free-kicks for doing FAR LESS and my AI get sent off.
• The opposition consistently passes the ball right through my players who should easily intercept or at least block it. But no, straight through 90-rated CDM Icon Petit it goes because reasons.
• You often have to tackle attacking players multiple times before you actually win the ball back. Tackle them and it just goes straight back to them, and again, rinse and repeat.
• Crosses and corners are pointless. The opposition 5'10" Mbappe can win a header in my box against my tall, strong defenders, but my 6'5" Ekitike with 99 Height and 99 Jumping can't win a header to save his life. Furthermore, the opposition recently punted into my box from a corner and, of course, none of my tall defenders won the ball and, instead, their player scored an OVERHEAD KICK. Overhead kicks work but headers don't?
• The opposition passing the ball out of their box, directly through your attacking players (see the second point), is absurd. Should they be able to work it out of the box? Of course! Should they be able to pass directly through 3, 4, 5 or more of your players? No, absolutely not.
• Opposition players consistently hold the ball up against my taller, stronger defenders with no problem at all. Players who are around 5'9" and shorter - Joe Cole was an example just today - with FAR less strength than my defenders should not be holding the ball up against 6'3", strong defenders. Furthermore, while their shorter, weaker players have no problem holding the ball up against my taller, stronger defenders, my taller, stronger attackers ALWAYS lose the ball to their defenders, even when they are shorter and weaker. What is the point of using tall and strong players if it doesn't count for anything?
• Gameplay constantly changes mid-game, often after half-time, and the players become slow, sluggish, take heavy touches and lose all their ability. This isn't a case of the players being fatigued because they're not, this is a fundamental change in the feel, pace and flow of the game and the engine. Why does this happen?

Feel free to add your own thoughts, positive and/or negative, and I'll be sure to add more as and when they come to mind.