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Over the midpoint of the season, Brentford find themselves in fantasy land.

Following four wins in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans are envisioning thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A emphatic 3-0 win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – 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 is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the battle for continental football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

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 cemented them in the elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

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

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

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Season

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not going through until deadline day.

But they also were aware they had a £30m striker already waiting to go.

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has gone about making up 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 English top-flight campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He is a physical specimen, quick, strong, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are fantastic. 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 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 his team.

His first goal against the Black Cats was his 7th 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 early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

Prior to the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shooting accuracy than the striker's 59.1 percent.

He finds the target. Achieve that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Considering the hardships he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really notable. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act 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 manager left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a test 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 option 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 key decision makers at Brentford, it looks as if they were correct.

Andrews won just one of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.

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

"We are in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We are pleased with how we are going but we want to keep striving."

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

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