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Over halfway through the season, The Bees are in a dream scenario.

With four wins in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A emphatic three-nil win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a position that was good enough to secure Champions League football last term.

Only table-toppers the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There's a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the race for European football.

No one was forecasting this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also established them in the top flight.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was elevated to replace the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A year of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was forecast. Yet here we are in the new year with the club in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not going through until the final day of the window.

But they also knew they had a £30 million striker already chomping at the bit.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his first campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

Thiago has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so pleased. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point shows the level he is operating at.

And it is not just the quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so important for Brentford.

His first goal against the opposition was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Considering how often we are told the significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

Before the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

He finds the target. Achieve that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Considering the hardships he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had star players – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

The fear was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those outside the club as a huge risk.

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich boss one candidate was the only other option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly confident they had the right man.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were correct.

The new boss won just one of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and the Magpies have followed.

Results that, following their excellent recent run, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for Europe.

"We're in good form and playing really good. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We are pleased with how we are going but we want to keep improving."

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just eight points, they have no other option, because things could quickly look very different.

But, for now, Brentford are defying the odds. And the longer that continues, the closer to reality those dreams of Europe will become.