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More than the midpoint of the season, The Bees are in dreamland.

With four wins in five games, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

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

Solely leaders Arsenal have accumulated more points over the past six games.

There's a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the battle for continental football.

No one was forecasting 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 got the club promoted but also established them in the top flight.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

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

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with Brentford in the top five.

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Season

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to circumstance, with one forward's move not being finalized until deadline day.

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

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in the summer for a then-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 brace against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

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

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's a physical specimen, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are fantastic. 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 playing at.

And it is not just the quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so vital for his team.

His first goal against the Black Cats was his seventh first goal of a game 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 underestimated.

Before 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 often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Considering 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 unsurprising that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," 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 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 complete centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Wrong

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 star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, 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 Brentford's 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 outside the club as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, especially 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 Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident 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 spot on.

Andrews won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against United, the Reds and the Magpies have followed.

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

"We are in good form and playing really well. 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 striving."

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

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