🔗 Share this article

More than the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees are in dreamland.

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

A comprehensive three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a place that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last term.

Only table-toppers Arsenal have gathered more points over the past six games.

There's a long way to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the battle for European football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

Thomas Frank had left for Tottenham 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 top flight.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was promoted to replace the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in the new year with Brentford in the top five.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Campaign

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to circumstance, with one forward's move not going through until deadline day.

But they also were aware they had a £30 million striker already waiting to go.

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

The 24-year-old has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers 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 the continent's major leagues to this point highlights the level he is playing at.

And it is not just the quantity but the crucial nature 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 underestimated.

Before the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

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 pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "This is really notable. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got real determination about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act 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 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 collective quality of Brentford's 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 huge risk.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from specialist 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 right man.

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

Andrews won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.

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

"We are in good form and playing really well. We are playing with courage 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 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, Brentford are defying the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to reality those dreams of Europe will become.