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More than halfway through the season, Brentford are in fantasy land.

Following victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian 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 Sunderland moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a place that was good enough to secure Champions League football last term.

Only leaders the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past six games.

There is a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the race for continental 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 got the club promoted but also cemented them in the elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder 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 Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

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

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

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

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

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was hindered by injury in his first campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

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

Considering the countrymen who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He has been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, 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 big 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 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 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 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 the striker's 59.1%.

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

Considering the hardships he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. 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 largely complete centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Incorrect

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger 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.

Consequently, 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 test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at Brentford, it looks as if they were vindicated.

The new boss won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and the Magpies have since occurred.

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

"We are in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We're 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 no other option, because things could quickly look very different.

But, for now, The Bees are defying the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those dreams of Europe will become.