Salomon Kalou has warned his Chelsea team-mates that they cannot afford to start Sunday's Premier League clash against Liverpool in the same way they played in their last away game, a 2-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Blues are just one point ahead of Manchester United in the title race, and with two games remaining know they cannot afford to drop points against Rafael Benitez's side.
Coming off the back of an emphatic 7-0 win against Stoke City on Sunday — in which Kalou scored three — the Ivorian is urging his team-mates to continue that form, rather than regress to the timid display that saw then beaten by their north London rivals.
“We have to go there and take control of the game,” Kalou said, according to The Independent.
“I feel at Tottenham, we let them play. We let them get comfortable with the ball and we have to go to Liverpool and play differently.
“We need to keep the ball and play our own game and not wait for Liverpool to take the initiative.
“Anfield will be a difficult journey, but we will be very motivated and know that if we win there, everything can be in our hands at home against Wigan.”
Liverpool will be without Fernando Torres for the game, who will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, but Kalou doesn't believe the absence of the striker makes the task at Anfield any easier for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
“Liverpool at home are still a strong team, even without Torres,” he said.
“It's true that if Torres played, it would be a plus for them, but I think they are still difficult to play at Anfield because they have that spirit at home and their supporters will push them 200 per cent."
United face Sunderland this weekend, and while Kalou doesn't rule out the Black Cats causing an upset, he is approaching the game with the mentality that Chelsea must not slip up.
“I think we have to win. There are two games to go and there's no other way of going about it. If you want to keep your chance at your end, you have to win every game," he said.
“I hope Manchester will go to Sunderland and drop some points, but you can only focus on your own game. If we take the three points, we don't worry about what Manchester do."
The Blues are just one point ahead of Manchester United in the title race, and with two games remaining know they cannot afford to drop points against Rafael Benitez's side.
Coming off the back of an emphatic 7-0 win against Stoke City on Sunday — in which Kalou scored three — the Ivorian is urging his team-mates to continue that form, rather than regress to the timid display that saw then beaten by their north London rivals.
“We have to go there and take control of the game,” Kalou said, according to The Independent.
“I feel at Tottenham, we let them play. We let them get comfortable with the ball and we have to go to Liverpool and play differently.
“We need to keep the ball and play our own game and not wait for Liverpool to take the initiative.
“Anfield will be a difficult journey, but we will be very motivated and know that if we win there, everything can be in our hands at home against Wigan.”
Liverpool will be without Fernando Torres for the game, who will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury, but Kalou doesn't believe the absence of the striker makes the task at Anfield any easier for Carlo Ancelotti's side.
“Liverpool at home are still a strong team, even without Torres,” he said.
“It's true that if Torres played, it would be a plus for them, but I think they are still difficult to play at Anfield because they have that spirit at home and their supporters will push them 200 per cent."
United face Sunderland this weekend, and while Kalou doesn't rule out the Black Cats causing an upset, he is approaching the game with the mentality that Chelsea must not slip up.
“I think we have to win. There are two games to go and there's no other way of going about it. If you want to keep your chance at your end, you have to win every game," he said.
“I hope Manchester will go to Sunderland and drop some points, but you can only focus on your own game. If we take the three points, we don't worry about what Manchester do."
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