Pep Guardiola: Bayern Munich boss would 'love 1,000 Dantes'
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola says he would "love to have 1,000 Dantes" after the centre-back impressed in the 1-0 win over Borussia Dortmund.
Dante, 31, had only played 51 minutes in the Bundesliga in almost two months but played 90 minutes on Saturday.
Champions Bayern are 10 points clear after Robert Lewandowski's goal.
"I can only congratulate my team, especially Dante in defence. I would like to dedicate this victory to him," said Guardiola.
"He's not played much recently, but he's an incredibly important player for us. I'd love to have 1,000 Dantes in my team."
The Brazil international only started because of an injury to fellow centre-back Holger Badstuber.
Treble-chasing Bayern are now four wins away from their third consecutive league title.
Borussia Dortmund, who finished second for the past two seasons having won the previous two titles, remain 10th.
The defeat by Bayern ended a seven-game unbeaten run in the league that had seen them climb from the bottom to mid-table.
Boss Jurgen Klopp said: "Things were absolutely fine for the first 10 minutes. Then Bayern managed to get a foothold in the game for the first time, and we let this make an impression on us.
"The second half was better. We had our chances, really forced Bayern to defend with their backs to the wall at times and prevented counter-attacks. But that alone isn't enough against Bayern.
"We were lacking clarity. On many individual occasions Bayern were simply better, so they deserved to win."