🔗 Share this article

Over halfway through the season, Brentford find themselves in a dream scenario.

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

A convincing three-nil win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a place that was good enough to secure Champions League football last term.

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

There is a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the fight for European football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

Thomas Frank had departed for Spurs after a seven-year stint 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 attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United 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 struggle, possibly even the drop, was forecast. But here we are in January with Brentford in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

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

But they also knew they had a £30 million striker already waiting to go.

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

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

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He's been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, 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 pleased. That's a big compliment to him."

That only Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe 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 quantity but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so vital for Brentford.

His first goal against the Black Cats was his seventh first goal of a game of the season. Given how often we are told the importance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Prior to the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shooting accuracy than the striker's 59.1%.

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

Given the hardships he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the death 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 praise for the type of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "It is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got real determination 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 Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger 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 avoid relegation.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, let alone 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 Town manager one candidate 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 the club, it looks as if they were spot on.

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

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

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

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

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