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More than halfway through the season, Brentford find themselves in dreamland.

Following victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was sufficient to secure European football last term.

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

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

No one was envisioning this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the elite division.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a total of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was elevated to succeed the Dane, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the off-season arrivals.

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

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

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

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

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

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

Considering the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, 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 big compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point shows the standard he is playing at.

And it is not just the volume but the timing of the goals that have been so important for Brentford.

His opener against the opposition 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 first big chance cannot be underestimated.

Prior to the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots 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.

Given the struggles 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 no surprise that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to forge 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 complete centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act but the team 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 collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a challenge 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 the hierarchy 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 the club, it looks as if they were correct.

The new boss won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, the Reds and Newcastle have since occurred.

Results that, following their brilliant recent form, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"We are in good form and playing really good. We are playing with courage and conviction 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 the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could rapidly look very different.

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