🔗 Share this article

Over the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees find themselves in fantasy land.

Following victories in five games, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A emphatic 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last season.

Only leaders the Gunners have collected more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There's a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the battle for European football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

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

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

Specialist coach Andrews was promoted to replace the Dane, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A season of struggle, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with Brentford in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to circumstance, with one forward's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

But they also knew they had a £30m striker already waiting to go.

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

The 24-year-old has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

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

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's full of 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 Europe's top five leagues to this point shows the standard he is operating at.

And it is not just the quantity but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so vital for his team.

His opener against the opposition 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 depend 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 hits the target. Achieve that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Considering the hardships 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 praise for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. 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 all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a one-man band.

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 manager left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, 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 Premier League and having made the jump from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager 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 Brentford, it looks as if they were vindicated.

Andrews won just one of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have since occurred.

Results 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 good. We are playing with bravery and belief 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 a handful of points, they have no other option, because things could rapidly look very different.

But, for now, The Bees are beating the odds. And the longer that continues, the closer to reality those dreams of Europe will become.