Defending needs a whole boost. Defenders lose the ball easily. fullbacks tend to drift to the center leaving a whole flank open. centre backs don't mark attackers entering the box but they will push forward on their own leaving a hole in the defense. Once some short winger uses a speed boosting skill move, good luck catching them with your slow Maldini. Controlling defenders is a nightmare which is why most people I face use autoplay instead.
There's a big disparity between defenders and attackers. Defenders appear like some slow inferior athletes, whereas attackers are the mechanically broken football gods.