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Over halfway through the campaign, Brentford are in dreamland.

With victories in five games, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans are envisioning thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last term.

Solely table-toppers the Gunners have collected more points over the past six games.

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

No one was envisioning this last off-season.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also cemented them in the elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was promoted to replace Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

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

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with one forward's move not going through until deadline day.

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

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then-record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his first campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

The 24-year-old has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the countrymen who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, quick, 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 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 the continent's major leagues to this point shows the standard 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 opener 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 depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Prior to the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shooting accuracy than Igor Thiago's 59.1%.

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

Given the struggles he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to support his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and personalities," the manager 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 worked for his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act 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 their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective than the individual components.

The concern 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 avoid relegation.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier League and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager one candidate was the only other option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

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

Andrews won just one of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

Results that, following their excellent recent form, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"We are in good form and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We are happy 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 a handful of points, they have no other option, because things could rapidly look very different.

But, for now, Brentford are beating the predictions. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those aspirations of the continent will become.