🔗 Share this article

More than halfway through the season, The Bees find themselves in a dream scenario.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A comprehensive 3-0 win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was good enough to secure European football last season.

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

There is a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the battle for continental football.

Few was forecasting this last summer.

The former head coach had left for Tottenham after seven years 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 goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was elevated to replace the Dane, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

A year of struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with the club 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 knew they had a £30m striker already ready and waiting.

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then club record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

Thiago has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He's a physical specimen, quick, strong, but technically better than people think. Excellent 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 big 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 volume but the timing of the goals that have been so pivotal for Brentford.

His opener against the Black Cats 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 depend on to take that first big chance cannot be underestimated.

Before the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shooting accuracy 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 labored in construction to provide for 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.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment but Brentford 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 Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

As a result, 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 first managerial job is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

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

To date, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were vindicated.

The new boss won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and the Magpies have followed.

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

"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 pleased 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 no other option, because things could quickly look very different.

But, for now, Brentford are beating the predictions. And the longer that lasts, the closer to reality those dreams of Europe will become.