A Brilliant South American Talent and Contradicting the Expectations – The Bees' European Push

Over the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees are in dreamland.

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

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

Only table-toppers the Gunners have gathered 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 envisioning this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed for Spurs after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also cemented them in the top flight.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

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

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

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Season

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to circumstance, with one forward's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then club record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

Thiago has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, strong, but technically better 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 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 the continent's major 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 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 depend on to take that first big chance cannot be underestimated.

Before the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1%.

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

Given the hardships 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 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," the manager 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 earned his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the individual components.

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 twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A maiden role 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 top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that the hierarchy 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 Brentford, it looks as if they were correct.

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

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with and without the ball," Andrews added. "We are 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 no other option, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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