🔗 Share this article

Over the midpoint of the campaign, Brentford find themselves in a dream scenario.

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

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

Only leaders the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There's a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the race for continental football.

Few was envisioning this last off-season.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also established them in the elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was promoted to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A year of struggle, possibly even the drop, was forecast. But here we are in the new year with the club in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

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

But they also were aware they had a £30m striker already waiting to go.

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

The 24-year-old has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Considering the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a revelation," pundit an analyst said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, strong, but more skilled 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 proud. That's a big 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 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 important for Brentford.

His opener against the opposition was his 7th opener of the season. Considering 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.

Prior to the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shooting accuracy than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

He finds the target. Achieve that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Considering the hardships he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "It is really impressive. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. 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 skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had star players – 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 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.

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 maiden role is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest 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 Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the right man.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust 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 big home victories against Manchester United, the Reds and Newcastle have followed.

Results that, following their excellent recent run, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for Europe.

"We're in good form and playing really well. We are playing with courage and conviction 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 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 rapidly look very otherwise.

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