why is defending in EAFC25 so hard?

this feels like FIFA 2004 all over again - as long as the opposing team has a fast striker with a good rating, he could run through my defence at will. and score from any angle. its unrealistic. 
In career mode ( World Class or Legendary levels ), my defenders are so often caught ball watching when the opposing striker picks up the ball and starts his run. there is zero intelligence displayed by the AI, as the defenders just don't react but stay rooted showed showed no positioning intelligence to get goal side. the sole attacking player could easily run through or carve his way through three defenders and score. 
i had thought each edition is supposed to be more realistic than the previous one, but as it turns out, this edition has reverted to the standard 20 years ago. how did this happen.