How to defend effectively at the Superstar level whilst using a weaker team

I love playing the Championship. My objective is to finish within the top 3 and secure promotion. In all previous editions, no problem even at the highest level. I can beat MU, Chelsea, Man City or Arsenal even with a weak team from the Championship. But now I can't even beat Leeds or Blackburn for that matter. I can't seem to mark the opposing striker effectively hence giving lots of silly goals via through balls. The opposing strikers always seem to be unmarked even though I have assigned a defender to tail him. . I have tried tinkering with the Team Formation, Team Instructions and whatever strategies that can be found under the Game plan but to no avail. I have tried to cut down on using the Switch button as suggested by an experienced player from another gaming site to let my defender naturally do the job. Unfortunately that did not work too. Tired of losing I have decided to use Brazil against Leeds. Finally, I achieved success for the first time after losing like 10 matches in a row. Brazil beats Leeds 2-0. It was indeed the game changer. It dawned on me that the defenders from Brazil are strong enough to keep up with the strikers from Leeds. Somehow they are efficient in covering up the gaps. I have come a conclusion that the only way to survive the through balls onslaught is to secure strong defenders to man the fort.

Just out of curiosity, has anyone secure promotion to the Premier League with a championship side at the Superstar Level?