The Brilliant Brazilian Star & Contradicting the Odds – The Bees' Continental Quest

Over the midpoint of the season, Brentford are in dreamland.

With four wins in five games, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was good enough to secure European football last term.

Only table-toppers 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 race for continental football.

Few was envisioning this last off-season.

The former head coach had departed for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted but also established 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 total of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was elevated to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A season of struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in January with Brentford in the upper echelons.

So, how have they managed it?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

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

But they also were aware they had a £30 million striker already chomping at the bit.

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his first campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

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 Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

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

"He has been a breath of fresh air," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are incredible. He must be so proud. That's a huge 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 crucial nature of the goals that have been so important for Brentford.

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 significance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

Prior to 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 percent.

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

Considering 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 handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into 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

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 their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective than the individual components.

The concern 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 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 outside the club as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss one candidate was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the correct candidate.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at the club, it looks as if they were vindicated.

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

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We're pleased with how we are going but we want to keep improving."

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

But, for now, Brentford are defying the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those dreams of the continent will become.