🔗 Share this article

Over halfway through the season, The Bees find themselves in dreamland.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

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

Only table-toppers Arsenal have collected more points over the past six games.

There's a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the battle for European football.

No one was envisioning this last summer.

Thomas Frank had left for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted but also established them in the elite division.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

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

A year of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was forecast. Yet here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

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

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

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his debut campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old 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 highest tally by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians 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 is a physical specimen, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Excellent 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 proud. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point shows 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 Brentford.

His first goal against the Black Cats was his seventh opener of the season. Given how often we are told the importance 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 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 finds the target. Achieve that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the hardships he had in his youth, 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 handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. He has got real determination about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Sceptics Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective 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 Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, 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 set-piece coach to the manager's office.

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

To date, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were correct.

Andrews won just a single of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

Results that, following their excellent recent form, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"We are in good form and playing really well. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with and without the ball," Andrews added. "We're happy with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."

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, Brentford are defying the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to reality those aspirations of the continent will become.