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More than halfway through the season, The Bees find themselves in dreamland.

With victories in five games, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A comprehensive three-nil win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a position that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

Solely table-toppers the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past six games.

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

No one was predicting this last off-season.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the top flight.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was elevated to replace Frank, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with the club in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not going through until deadline day.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his first campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

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

Considering the countrymen who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so proud. 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 underscores the level he is operating at.

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

His opener against the opposition was his 7th 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 depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

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 hits 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 support his family following the death 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. "It is really notable. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. 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 largely complete centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but Brentford 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 sum of their parts.

The fear was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of Brentford's 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 maiden role is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from specialist coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss one candidate was the only other alternative that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the correct candidate.

To date, 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 one of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and the Magpies have followed.

Results that, following their excellent recent form, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"We're in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We're 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 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 reality those aspirations of Europe will become.