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More than the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees find themselves in a dream scenario.

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

A convincing 3-0 win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the Premier League – 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 is a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the race for European football.

No one was envisioning this last summer.

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

Club captain their Danish midfielder 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 respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was promoted to replace the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A year of struggle, possibly even the drop, was forecast. But here we are in the new year with the club in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to timing, with one forward's move not going through until the final day of the window.

But they also were aware they had a £30m striker already ready and waiting.

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

Thiago 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 Premier League campaign.

Considering the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He is a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are fantastic. 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 the continent's major leagues to this point shows the level he is playing 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 initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance cannot be underestimated.

Before the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shooting accuracy than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

He hits the target. Achieve that consistently 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 high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really special 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 real determination about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round 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 key individuals – a host of talent – under their previous boss, 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 their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier League and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other option that Brentford 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 the club, it looks as if they were correct.

The new boss won just one of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.

Wins 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," Andrews added. "We're pleased with how we are going but we want to keep striving."

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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