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Over the midpoint of the season, The Bees find themselves in dreamland.

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 European capitals next season.

A emphatic 3-0 win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was good enough to secure European football last season.

Solely leaders the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the battle for continental football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

Thomas Frank had departed for Spurs after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also established them in the top flight.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a total of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was elevated to succeed the Dane, 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 Brentford in the top five.

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

But they also were aware they had a £30 million striker already chomping at the bit.

Igor Thiago 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 eight appearances.

Thiago has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the countrymen who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He has been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He's a physical specimen, fast, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so pleased. That's a big 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 standard he is operating at.

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

His first goal against the opposition was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Before the game against their opponents, 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. 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 death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has adapted to 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 complete centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Sceptics Incorrect

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment but Brentford 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 sum of their parts.

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 avoid relegation.

As a result, appointing Andrews, 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 test for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from specialist 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 correct candidate.

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

Andrews won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

Results that, following their excellent recent run, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for European qualification.

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

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, The Bees are defying the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those dreams of the continent will become.