A Brilliant Brazilian Talent & Defying all Expectations – The Bees' European Quest

Over halfway through the season, Brentford find themselves in a dream scenario.

Following four wins in five games, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A emphatic three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a place that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

Only table-toppers Arsenal have accumulated more points over the past six games.

There's a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the race for European football.

No one was envisioning this last summer.

Thomas Frank had left for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted but also cemented them in the elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was promoted to replace Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

A year of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. But 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 partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

But they also knew they had a £30 million striker already waiting to go.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then club record fee, but was plagued by injury in his first campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He has been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. These numbers are incredible. He must be so pleased. That's a big 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 underscores the level he is operating at.

And it is not just the volume but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so vital for Brentford.

His opener against the opposition was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the first goal 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 percent.

He hits the target. Do that often enough 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 passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure 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," the manager said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Incorrect

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment 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 individual components.

The fear 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 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 outside the club as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the correct candidate.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at the club, it looks as if they were correct.

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

Wins that, following their excellent recent form, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"We're in good form and playing really good. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We're happy with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

But, for now, The Bees are beating the odds. And the longer that continues, the closer to reality those aspirations of the continent will become.