🔗 Share this article

Over halfway through the season, The Bees are in dreamland.

With victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A emphatic 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the Premier League – a place that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

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

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

No one was forecasting this last summer.

Thomas Frank had left for Spurs after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the top flight.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

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

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

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Season

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

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

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then-record fee, but was hindered by injury in his debut campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

Thiago has gone about compensating 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 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 a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. These numbers are fantastic. He must be so pleased. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point highlights the level he is operating at.

And it is not just the quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so important for Brentford.

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.

Prior to the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

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

Given the hardships he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "It is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Incorrect

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 – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under their previous boss, 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 sum of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, 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 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 confident they had the correct candidate.

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

The new boss won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have since occurred.

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

"We're in good form 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 pushing."

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just eight points, they have no other option, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

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