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Over the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees find themselves in a dream scenario.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing three-nil win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a position that was sufficient to secure European football last season.

Solely leaders the Gunners have gathered more points over the past six games.

There is a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the battle for European football.

No one was predicting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed for Spurs 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 Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was promoted to succeed the Dane, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the off-season arrivals.

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

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Season

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to timing, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

But they also were aware they had a £30m striker already waiting to go.

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are fantastic. He must be so pleased. That's a big compliment to him."

That only Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point shows the level he is playing at.

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

His first goal against the opposition was his seventh opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

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

He hits the target. Achieve that consistently and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the struggles he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got real determination about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a one-man band.

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

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

As a result, appointing their set-piece coach, 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, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from set-piece coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna 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 the club, it looks as if they were correct.

Andrews won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.

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

"We are in good form and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep striving."

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

But, for now, The Bees are beating the odds. And the longer that continues, the closer to reality those aspirations of Europe will become.