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

With victories in their last five outings, 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 convincing three-nil win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a position that was good enough to secure European football last season.

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

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

No one was envisioning 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 guided the club to the Premier League but also established them in the elite division.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester 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 off-season arrivals.

A year of struggle, possibly even the drop, was forecast. Yet here we are in the new year with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

But they also knew they had a £30m striker already ready and waiting.

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his first 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 sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, quick, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off 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 Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe 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 quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so pivotal for Brentford.

His opener against the opposition was his seventh opener 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 30 shots 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.

Considering the struggles he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction 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 praise for the type of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really impressive. He is a really special 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 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 complete centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, 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.

As a result, 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 huge risk.

A maiden role is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the correct candidate.

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

Andrews won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and the Magpies have since occurred.

Results that, following their brilliant recent form, could prove all the more important in the race for European qualification.

"We're in good form and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."

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, Brentford are defying the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to reality those aspirations of the continent will become.