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More than halfway through the campaign, The Bees find themselves in fantasy land.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

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

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

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

No one was predicting this last off-season.

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 their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

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

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in January with Brentford in the upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was partly 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 ready and waiting.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues 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 highest tally by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, strong, 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 underscores the standard he is operating at.

And it is not just the volume but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so important for Brentford.

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 significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Prior to 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%.

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

Given the hardships he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "It is really notable. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment 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 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 stay up.

As a result, appointing their set-piece coach, 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, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss one candidate was the only other option 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 vindicated.

The new boss won just a single of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against United, Liverpool and the Magpies have followed.

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

"We're 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 happy 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 little choice, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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