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Over the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees are in a dream scenario.

Following four wins in their last five outings, and a Samba striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning 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 top flight – a place that was good enough to secure Champions League football last season.

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

There is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the fight for European football.

No one was envisioning this last summer.

The former head coach had left for Spurs 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 elite division.

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 also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

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

A season of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was forecast. Yet here we are in the new year with the club in the top five.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to circumstance, with one forward's move not being finalized until deadline day.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his first campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

Thiago has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He's a physical specimen, fast, 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. His statistics are fantastic. He must be so proud. 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 crucial nature of the goals that have been so pivotal for his team.

His first goal against the opposition was his seventh opener of the season. Given 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 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 consistently and the goals will – and have – come.

Given 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 handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got real determination about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

Andrews 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 sum of their parts.

The concern was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality 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 year at the club was seen by those outside the club 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 jump from specialist coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

So far, 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 Manchester United, the Reds and the Magpies have since occurred.

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews 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 eight 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.