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Over the midpoint of the season, The Bees are in a dream scenario.

With victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A emphatic 3-0 win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the Premier League – a place that was good enough to secure European football last term.

Solely leaders Arsenal have collected more points over the past six games.

There's a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the battle for continental football.

Few was forecasting 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 promoted but also cemented them in the elite division.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was elevated to succeed Frank, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A season of difficulty, possibly even the drop, 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 Historic Campaign

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

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

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

Thiago has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the most 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 revelation," pundit an analyst said. "He's a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. These numbers are incredible. He must be so pleased. 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 underscores 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 Brentford.

His opener against the opposition was his 7th 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 first big chance cannot be overstated.

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

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

Considering the struggles he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer 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 handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Doubters Incorrect

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 – a host of talent – under Frank, 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 collective quality of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club as a gamble.

A maiden role is a test for anyone, let alone 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 Town manager one candidate was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the correct candidate.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were correct.

The new boss won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

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

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

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 different.

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