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

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

A emphatic three-nil win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was good enough to secure Champions League football last season.

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

There is a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the fight for European football.

No one was forecasting this last off-season.

The former head coach 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 top flight.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club 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 respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was elevated to replace the Dane, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the off-season arrivals.

A season of struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Season

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part 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 £30m striker already chomping at the bit.

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then-record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland 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 preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, strong, but more skilled 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 proud. That's a big 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 quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so important for his team.

His first goal against the Black Cats was his seventh 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 early opportunity 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%.

He finds the target. Achieve that often enough 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 passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really notable. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are learning 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 Brentford are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had star players – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective than the sum of their parts.

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, especially 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 alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at the club, it looks as if they were vindicated.

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

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

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

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just a handful of 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 lasts, the closer to fruition those dreams of the continent will become.