The Brilliant Brazilian Star and Contradicting all Odds – The Bees' Continental Push

More than the midpoint of the season, The Bees are in dreamland.

Following victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker netting the goals, suddenly supporters are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing three-nil win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the Premier League – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last season.

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

There's a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the race for European football.

No one was envisioning this last off-season.

The former head coach had left for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also established them in the elite division.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

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

A year of struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in the new year with the club in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to circumstance, with one forward's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

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

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

The 24-year-old has gone 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 countrymen who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He's been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, 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. His statistics are incredible. He must be so pleased. That's a huge 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 highlights the standard he is operating at.

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

His first goal against the Black Cats was his seventh opener of the season. Given how often we are told the importance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely 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 Igor Thiago's 59.1%.

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

Considering the struggles he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise 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 characters," Andrews said. "It is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. 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 pretty all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Wrong

Their star striker is the man of the moment but Brentford 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 stronger than the individual components.

The fear 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 stay up.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from set-piece 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 correct candidate.

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

Andrews won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have followed.

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

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

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

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