Kalou has pinpointed Barcelona's defence as a weakness that Chelsea can target in their Champions League semi-final and bullishly claimed that his team-mates now "expect" to defeat the European champions.
Salomon Kalou has pinpointed Barcelona's defence as a weakness that Chelsea can target in their Champions League semi-final and bullishly claimed that his team-mates now "expect" to defeat the European champions.
Barcelona have won two out of the last three Champions League titles in a style that has prompted comparison with the best teams in football history but, according to Kalou, there are still imperfections in Pep Guardiola's squad.
"Every team has its weaknesses," said Kalou. "They have their weaknesses; we know that we can play on that. We know that they haven't been so confident at the back, conceding a lot of goals, so that is something we can play on.
"We expect to win. People see the way Barcelona play today, they can say, 'Chelsea have no chance against Barcelona', but we work hard every day in training and we believe that on the pitch is the only way of answering all those negative thoughts.
"We believe that we can beat them even if it will be a difficult game."
Although Barcelona are most noted for an attack that is spearheaded by Lionel Messi, their defensive record this season contradicts Kalou's theory. They have kept five clean sheets in their last seven games and have conceded only 22 goals in 30 matches this season in La Liga. In comparison, Chelsea have conceded 36 in 31 Premier League games.
Kalou, though, is taking heart from the fact that Barcelona are six points adrift of Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid in the Spanish league.
"Right now, if we had played Madrid people would not say that Chelsea has no chance because it's Madrid," said Kalou. "But, because it's Barcelona, because they have Messi and all those players, people are thinking that we can't make it. In one game, everything can happen."
Kalou, who started both legs of Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final win against Benfica, was also in the squad that played Barcelona in the 2009 semi-final. Chelsea actually controlled most of that tie, holding Barcelona to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp, before being eliminated on away goals when Andres Iniesta scored at Stamford Bridge with virtually the last kick of the game.
With the core of the Chelsea team still intact and results improving, it is a memory that provides hope for an unlikely upset. "We learn from the past," said Kalou. "There are teams like that. You play them, and they always win, but there is a moment when you also can overcome them."
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