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More than the midpoint of the season, Brentford are in fantasy land.

With four wins in five games, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a place that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

Solely 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 battle for continental football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

Thomas Frank had left for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted 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 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

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

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

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

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

But they also knew they had a £30 million striker already ready and waiting.

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

The 24-year-old has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland 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 a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are incredible. 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 Europe's top five leagues to this point highlights the standard he is playing at.

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

His first goal against the opposition was his 7th opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the initial strike 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 the striker's 59.1%.

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

Given the hardships he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very nicely. 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 abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters 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 sum of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, 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 first managerial job is a test 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 Town manager one candidate was the only other option 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 key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were vindicated.

Andrews won just a single of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, the Reds and the Magpies have followed.

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We're happy with how we are going but we want to keep striving."

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 predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those dreams of Europe will become.