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Over halfway through the campaign, Brentford are in dreamland.

With four wins in five games, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

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

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

There's a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the fight for continental football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

The former head coach had left for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also established them in the elite division.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

Set-piece 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 forecast. But here we are in January with the club in the top five.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to timing, with one forward's move not going through until the final day of the window.

But they also knew they had a £30m striker already chomping at the bit.

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 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 Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, 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. His statistics are fantastic. 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 highlights the standard he is playing at.

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

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

Before the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1%.

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

Considering the struggles he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the passing 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 personalities," the manager said. "This is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to earn 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 pretty all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a one-man band.

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

The concern was that once the manager 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 leap from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other option that Brentford 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 spot on.

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

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We're pleased 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 eight points, they have no other option, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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