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Over halfway through the season, The Bees find themselves in a dream scenario.

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

A convincing three-nil win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a place that was good enough to secure Champions League football last term.

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

There's a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the race for European football.

No one was forecasting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had left for Tottenham after a seven-year stint 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 goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

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

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. But here we are in the new year with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Season

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with one forward's move not being finalized 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 injury in his debut campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

Thiago has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland 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 come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so pleased. That's a big compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point highlights the level he is operating 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 Black Cats was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Given how often we are told the importance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

Prior to the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shooting accuracy than the striker's 59.1 percent.

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

Considering the hardships he had in his youth, where he labored in construction 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 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. "It is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very nicely. 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 developing his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act but the team 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 fear was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the sum 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 external observers as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss one candidate was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

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

The new boss won just a single of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We're 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 no other option, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

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