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Over the midpoint of the campaign, Brentford find themselves in fantasy land.

With victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A emphatic 3-0 win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a position that was sufficient to secure European football last term.

Only leaders the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past six games.

There's a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the race for continental football.

No one was forecasting this last off-season.

The former head coach had left for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the top flight.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was promoted to replace the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A season of struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in the new year with Brentford in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Campaign

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

But they also were aware 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 plagued by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

The 24-year-old has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so pleased. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point highlights the standard he is playing at.

And it is not just the volume but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so important for Brentford.

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

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

He hits the target. Do that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the struggles he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

The concern was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager one candidate was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the correct candidate.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were vindicated.

Andrews won just one of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against Manchester United, the Reds and Newcastle have followed.

Results that, following their excellent recent run, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for European qualification.

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

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just eight points, they have little choice, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

But, for now, Brentford are beating the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those dreams of Europe will become.