A Outstanding South American Star & Contradicting all Expectations – Brentford's Continental Quest

Over halfway through the season, Brentford are in dreamland.

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

A comprehensive three-nil win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a place that was good enough to secure European football last term.

Solely leaders the Gunners have collected more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There is a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the race for continental football.

No one was predicting this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Spurs after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also established them in the elite division.

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

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

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

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

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

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

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in the summer for a then club record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his first campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He has been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, quick, powerful, 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. His statistics are incredible. He must be so proud. 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 operating at.

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

His first goal against the Black Cats was his 7th opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity 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 Igor Thiago's 59.1%.

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

Given the struggles he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to support his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. 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."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Wrong

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 – a host of talent – under their previous boss, 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 collective quality of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

As a result, 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 huge risk.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from specialist coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other option that Brentford 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 Brentford, it looks as if they were spot on.

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

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

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

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just eight points, they have no other option, because things could quickly look very different.

But, for now, Brentford are defying the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those aspirations of the continent will become.