🔗 Share this article

More than halfway through the campaign, Brentford are in dreamland.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing three-nil win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a position that was sufficient to secure European football last season.

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

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

No one was forecasting this last summer.

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 Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was elevated to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A year of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with Brentford in the upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to timing, with Wissa's move not going through until deadline day.

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 fitness issues in his debut campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

Thiago has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a player from Brazil 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 revelation," pundit an analyst said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so proud. That's a huge 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 highlights the level he is playing 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 7th opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

Prior to 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 percent.

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

Given the struggles he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that high-stakes situations 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 notable. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Sceptics Incorrect

Their star striker is the headline act 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 stronger than the sum of their parts.

The concern was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club 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 leap from specialist coach to the manager's office.

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

The new boss won just one of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and the Magpies have followed.

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

"We are in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We are pleased with how we are going but we want to keep striving."

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

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