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

Following victories in their last five outings, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans are envisioning thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A comprehensive 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

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

There's a long way to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the battle for continental football.

Few was predicting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also established them in the elite division.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was promoted to replace Frank, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

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

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to timing, with Wissa's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

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

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in the summer for a then club record fee, but was plagued by injury in his first campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

Thiago has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

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

"He has been a breath of fresh air," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers 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 the continent's major leagues to this point underscores the level he is playing at.

And it is not just the volume but the timing of the goals that have been so important for his team.

His opener against the Black Cats was his 7th opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Prior to the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1%.

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

Considering 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 takes in his stride.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty complete 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 star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective than the sum of their parts.

The fear was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality 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 outside the club as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a challenge 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 one candidate was the only other option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust 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 United, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.

Wins that, following their excellent recent form, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for Europe.

"We are in good form and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with or 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 no other option, because things could quickly look very different.

But, for now, Brentford are defying the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to reality those aspirations of Europe will become.