Virgil van Dijk talked up the importance of Liverpool's win over Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup.
The European champion claimed the trophy with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out win in Istanbul, where the Premier League clubs drew 2-2 on Wednesday.
The significance of the trophy has been questioned, but Van Dijk said winning silverware was crucial for Liverpool's progress.
"It's incredibly important," the star defender said, via the Mirror .
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"I do think it's really important – for the progress of the team, for our development. Winning a trophy is important for your mentality. We did it the hard way."
Sadio Mane cancelled out Olivier Giroud's opener and also put Liverpool ahead in extra time, only for a Jorginho penalty to lead to the shoot-out.
Adrian, on his first Liverpool start, was the hero, making the only save from Tammy Abraham to see Jurgen Klopp's men to victory.
"It was definitely a dream – a dream to win trophies," Van Dijk said. "And I think before I joined, in my decision I set my goals, and these things were part of my goals – winning trophies was part of my decision.
"You take every opportunity you have to win a trophy. That is always the goal, and winning makes it a little bit easier the next time.
"We would have liked to have done it easier, we wanted to do it like we did better in the second half, but the winning is the important thing at the end. It is good to have that mentality."
Liverpool will be aiming for a second straight win to start the Premier League season when it visits Southampton on Saturday.
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