🔗 Share this article

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

With four wins in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A comprehensive three-nil win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

Solely leaders the Gunners have gathered more points over the past six games.

There's a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the battle for European football.

No one was envisioning this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed 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 their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was promoted to succeed Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. But here we are in the new year with Brentford in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Season

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not going through until the final day of the window.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then-record fee, but was plagued by injury in his first campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

Thiago has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, 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. His statistics are incredible. He must be so proud. That's a big 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 level he is playing at.

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

His opener against the opposition was his 7th opener of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the first goal 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 thirty efforts 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.

Considering the struggles he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to support his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "This is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very nicely. 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 learning more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Sceptics Wrong

Their star striker is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger 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.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier League and having made the leap from specialist coach to the manager's office.

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

So far, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were correct.

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

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

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

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 rapidly look very otherwise.

But, for now, The Bees are beating the odds. And the longer that continues, the closer to reality those dreams of Europe will become.