This was the one. Division 8 AI and everything came down to this single match. Win it and I forfeit the rest and get promoted straight away, lose or draw and I’m stuck grinding out all the other games. No pressure right 😂 Loaded in against SE Palmeiras in those green kits with the pink and gold fire design and from kickoff at 14:21 I knew I wasn’t messing around. Early on it was cagey but I was pushing high, using Switch and Dash & Pressure to win the ball back. Then at 16:24 Nedved picked it up outside the box and just ripped one. Scoreboard flipped to 0-1, "Pavel Nedved Today's Goals: 1" popped up and he ran straight to the corner flag. The 100 POTW card was cooking already and I could feel the momentum shift.
The floodgates opened right after that. By 19:10 it was 0-2 and this time it was Gareth Bale getting on the end of things. Replay showed the build up was clean, ball moving through midfield with Gerrard and Saka linking, then a finish to make it two. "Challenge Completed: Goals 2" flashed on screen but I wasn’t stopping there. The AI defense in Division 8 just couldn’t deal with the movement. Nedved was everywhere, dropping deep then bursting forward. You could see the control buttons on the right the whole time because I was constantly switching players, forcing mistakes. Palmeiras had nothing, just passing it around their own half while my team pressed. Even Bale was tracking back and helping, that’s how locked in the whole squad was.
Nedved went absolutely insane in this one 🥲 Ended up with 4 goals total and two of them were from outside the 18. He was taking shots from everywhere, 18 shots as a team and most of them were quality chances. The way he hit those long range ones, the ball just flew and the keeper didn’t even move. Every time he got it on his left foot the whole stadium knew what was coming. The celebration after the third and fourth, him hugging R. Carlos and the rest of the squad, that’s when I knew promotion was locked. The AI tried to respond with Kane and Rooney but my backline with Van Basten and Messi pressing high didn’t give them a sniff. At one point I was just passing it around the center circle to waste time and they still couldn’t get the ball.
7-0 nil when the final whistle blew. Complete domination. I was just toying with them by the end, trying different players, different angles, still scoring. The scoreline says it all, 7 goals and a clean sheet in the most important game of the division. If I had lost this I’d have to go back and play every single remaining fixture and that would’ve taken forever. But now I can just forfeit and move up. That’s why this one felt different, it wasn’t just another AI match, it was do or die for the promotion. Seeing that "W" pop up and knowing Division 7 is next made all the grinding worth it.
Nedved carrying with 4 goals is crazy but it’s what he does on this card. 2 screamers from outside the box, constant movement, and he made the whole attack click. I’ve used him in other matches but never like this. This green and pink kit will be remembered for this match. Division 7 here I come. Next season the real grind starts but for now I’m just gonna enjoy this 7-0 and the fact I don’t have to play those other AI games. Time to set the lineup for Division 7 and see who else can go off like Nedved did.
