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More than halfway through the season, Brentford find themselves in fantasy land.

Following victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A emphatic three-nil win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a position that was good enough to secure Champions League football last term.

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

There's a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the fight for European football.

No one was forecasting this last off-season.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham 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 Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

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

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was forecast. But here we are in the new year with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how have they managed it?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Campaign

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to timing, with Wissa'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 July 2024 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 gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland 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 breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, powerful, 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. His statistics are fantastic. 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 the continent's major leagues to this point underscores the standard he is operating at.

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

His first goal against the opposition was his seventh opener of the season. Given 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 Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shooting accuracy than the striker's 59.1%.

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

Considering the struggles he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to support his family following the death 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 praise for the type of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "It is really notable. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving 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 key individuals – a host of talent – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective than the individual components.

The fear was that once the manager 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 Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A maiden role is a test 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 boss Kieran McKenna 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 Brentford, it looks as if they were correct.

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

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

"We are in good form and playing really good. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We are pleased 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 a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

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