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More than halfway through the season, Brentford are in fantasy land.

With victories in five games, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with 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 Premier League – a position that was good enough to secure Champions League football last season.

Solely 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 European football.

No one was forecasting 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 guided the club promoted but also cemented them in the elite division.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

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

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

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

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

But they also knew they had a £30 million striker already ready and waiting.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his debut 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 highest tally by a Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He is a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are fantastic. 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 standard he is playing at.

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

His opener 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 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 shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1%.

He finds the target. Achieve that consistently 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 unsurprising that pressure 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," the manager said. "It is really notable. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. He has got real determination about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Incorrect

Their star striker 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 their previous boss, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

The fear was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

As a result, appointing their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss one candidate was the only other option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were vindicated.

The new boss won just one of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have since occurred.

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with courage 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 the European spots and the lower mid-table 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 predictions. And the longer that lasts, the closer to reality those aspirations of the continent will become.