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More than the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees find themselves in fantasy land.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A emphatic three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was sufficient to secure European football last term.

Solely leaders Arsenal have gathered more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There's a long way to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the battle for European football.

Few was forecasting this last summer.

Thomas Frank had left for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted but also cemented them in the elite division.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was promoted to succeed Frank, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

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

So, how have they managed it?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Season

The club's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to timing, with Wissa's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's a physical specimen, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's full of confidence. These numbers are incredible. He must be so proud. That's a huge 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 standard he is operating at.

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

His opener against the opposition was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Considering how often we are told the significance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

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

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

Considering the struggles 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 high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the kind 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 worked for his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters Wrong

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

While they had star players – a host of talent – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team stronger than the individual components.

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.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier League and having made the leap from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the correct candidate.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at the club, it looks as if they were spot on.

Andrews won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, the Reds and Newcastle have since occurred.

Wins that, following their brilliant recent form, 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 courage 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 fourth and 15th are currently separated by just eight points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very different.

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