Former Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit believes manager Thomas Tuchel has lost his bounce this season.
The Blues have won just one of their last five Premier League games and sit 10 points behind leaders Manchester City ahead of their clash at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.
The European champions, however, have raised spirits recently in the domestic cups, beating Chesterfield in the FA Cup third round and then qualifying for the final of the Carabao Cup with a 3-0 aggregate victory against Tottenham.
"What is happening on the pitch for Chelsea now, reminds me of what it was like under Tuchel at Paris Saint-Germain when things started to go wrong there," the 1998 World Cup winner told bookmakers.co.uk earlier this week, prior to Wednesday night's win at Spurs.
"Trouble started in newspapers, the pressure came on from the media and fans, powerful players within the club were questioning him all the time and it continued week after week. You could see that physically he had changed during the press conferences and on the bench in games.
"That cool attitude he has just wasn't there. He was getting aggressive and was also looking for excuses from outside the club. What happened with Lukaku was like throwing oil on a fire, and all of a sudden it explodes.
"The club are the current Champions League holders and they won that after Thomas Tuchel arrived. They have done very well in terms of results, fighting spirit and teamwork.
"Tuchel also used to do a very good job in terms of tactics as well, but for the last few weeks - and I don't know if it is because of the results, players not being available because of injuries and covid or his relationships with some players - he looks very nervous.
"Tuchel doesn't appear to have the same confidence he once had at Chelsea."
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