The Exceptional South American Star & Contradicting the Expectations – Brentford's Continental Push

Over the midpoint of the season, Brentford are in fantasy land.

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

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

Only leaders the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past half-dozen matches.

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

No one was forecasting this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also established them in the top flight.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was promoted to succeed Frank, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

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

So, how have they managed it?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Campaign

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to timing, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

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

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 without a goal in his initial outings.

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

Considering the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He has been a revelation," pundit an analyst said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, strong, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers 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 the continent's major 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 his team.

His opener against the Black Cats was his seventh first goal of a game of the season. Considering 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 overstated.

Prior to 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 percent.

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

Given the hardships he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer 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 credit for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "This is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

Andrews 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 star players – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective than the sum of their parts.

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.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a challenge 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 Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident 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 a single of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and the Magpies have since occurred.

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

"We're in good form and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," he 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 no other option, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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