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Over halfway through the season, Brentford are in fantasy land.

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

A comprehensive 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last term.

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

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

No one was predicting this last off-season.

The former head coach had left 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 elite division.

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

Specialist coach Andrews was promoted to succeed Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the off-season arrivals.

A year of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in January with the club in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was in part 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 ready and waiting.

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

The 24-year-old has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

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

"He's been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, powerful, 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 pleased. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point underscores the level he is operating at.

And it is not just the volume but the timing of the goals that have been so vital for Brentford.

His first goal against the Black Cats was his seventh opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the significance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

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

He finds the target. Do that consistently and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the hardships he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer 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 handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really notable. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very well. 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 skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Doubters Incorrect

Their star striker is the man of the moment but the team are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team stronger than the individual components.

The concern was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club 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 jump from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the right man.

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 big home victories against United, Liverpool and the Magpies have since occurred.

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

"We are in good form and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We are 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 rapidly look very otherwise.

But, for now, The Bees are defying the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those aspirations of Europe will become.