Jordan Henderson described Liverpool's Super Cup win over Chelsea as "tough" and said that his team struggled with the humidity in Istanbul.
The Reds beat their Premier League rivals 5-4 on penalties to lift the European trophy for the fourth time after a closely-fought contest ended all-square after 120 minutes.
Jurgen Klopp's were far from their best and had to come from behind before getting the better of Frank Lampard's side in the shootout.
And Henderson, who captained the Merseyside club to a Champions League triumph last season, admitted that his side found the playing conditions challenging.
"It was tough," Henderson told BT Sport . "It's quite humid here, although you can't really tell on the telly.
"Extra time as well, you could see the lads were struggling a bit, sloppy passes.
"You've just got to try and keep it moving, keep the ball and get a breather."
Liverpool fell behind in the first half to a clinical Olivier Giroud finish before Sadio Mane, making his first start of the season, equalised just after the break to ensure the game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes.
The Senegal international was on target once again in extra time to give his side the lead, only to see that advantage cancelled out by Jorginho's penalty a few minutes later.
The game had to be decided by penalties and goalkeeper Adrian, who brought down Tammy Abraham to concede the spot-kick, made himself the hero in the shootout by saving the decisive effort.
After suffering their own penalty heartbreak against Manchester City in the Community Shield, Liverpool skipper Henderson said the club were "delighted" to walk away with the silverware this time around.
He continued: "It was a tough game, Chelsea are a good side. It's not a nice way to lose, we know that after the Community Shield, but we're delighted we've won this one.
"We're delighted for Adri, who has just come to the club and he's the hero again tonight.
"He's come in, he's been asked a lot, but he's done a great job and hopefully that's just the start.
"We want to win as many trophies as we can, we've said that before, so we're delighted to win the trophy and take it back."
