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More than halfway through the campaign, The Bees find themselves in fantasy land.

Following four wins in five games, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A convincing 3-0 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 season.

Solely table-toppers Arsenal have collected more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the fight for European football.

Few was predicting this last summer.

Thomas Frank had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted but also established them in the top flight.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was elevated to succeed the Dane, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

A year of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was forecast. Yet here we are in the new year with Brentford in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to circumstance, with one forward's move not going through until deadline day.

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

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in the summer for a then-record fee, but was plagued by injury in his debut campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with 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 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 his team.

His opener against the opposition was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

Before the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1%.

He hits the target. Do 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 passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to earn 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 learning more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Incorrect

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

While they had key individuals – 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 manager left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

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 manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager one candidate was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the right man.

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 Manchester United, the Reds and Newcastle have followed.

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We're pleased 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 rapidly look very otherwise.

But, for now, The Bees are defying the predictions. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those aspirations of the continent will become.