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

Following four wins in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of 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 place that was good enough to secure Champions League football last season.

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

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

Few was predicting this last off-season.

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

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was elevated to succeed the Dane, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

A season of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was forecast. But here we are in January with Brentford in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

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

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

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 gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

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

"He has been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are fantastic. 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 the continent's major leagues to this point highlights the standard he is playing at.

And it is not just the quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so pivotal for his team.

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

Prior to the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1 percent.

He hits 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 support his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise 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 characters," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Wrong

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

While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger 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 Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier 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 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 Brentford, it looks as if they were vindicated.

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

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

"We're in good form and playing really well. We are playing with courage and belief 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 a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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