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Over the midpoint of the campaign, Brentford are in dreamland.

Following victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A emphatic three-nil win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a position that was good enough to secure European football last term.

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

There's a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the race for European football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Spurs after seven years 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 combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

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

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

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was partly 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 £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 injury in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's a physical specimen, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score with 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 the continent's major leagues to this point highlights the standard he is operating at.

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

His first goal against the Black Cats was his seventh first goal of a game of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Before 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%.

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

Considering the struggles 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 unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. 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 toiled. He has got serious grit 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."

The Manager Showing Doubters Wrong

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

While they had star players – 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 manager left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, let alone 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 one candidate was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

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

The new boss won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have followed.

Wins that, following their excellent recent run, could prove increasingly important in the race for Europe.

"We're in good form and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We're pleased 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, The Bees are defying the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those aspirations of the continent will become.