Many fine Brazilians have graced the Premier League over the years. Juninho, Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho. Many still are. The two Gabriels, Magalhaes and Jesus, could well fire Arsenal to the title.
Yet here, on a bitter night at the Gtech Stadium, Brentford’s own south American star hoisted his own name among the pantheon of his countrymen.
Igor Thiago’s brace in victory over Sunderland took his tally to 16 goals for the season.
As he rounded Robin Roefs in the first half and slotted into the net, Thiago moved alongside Firmino, Gabriel Martinelli and Matheus Cunha for the most goals scored by a Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign. And with a flick of his head in the second, he went past them. We’re only a week into January.
He could have had more. He’d fired an early shot wide before having another handful saved by Roefs later on to deny Thiago successive hat-tricks after his weekend rout at Everton.
‘I wasn’t expecting to score this much,’ said Thiago. Neither, if he’s being honest, did his manager.
Igor Thiago scored twice to take his goal tally to 16 for the season as Brentford beat Sunderland 3-0
Keith Andrews’ side rose to fifth with the win as they continue to prove the doubters wrong
Brentford 3-0 Sunderland – MATCH FACTS
BRENTFORD (4-2-3-1): Kelleher 8.5; Kayode 7.5 (Hickey 82), Ajer 7, Collins 8, Henry 7; Yarmoliuk 8, Janelt 8; Lewis-Potter 7 (Damsgaard 61, 7), Jensen 6.5 (Henderson 76), Schade 8; THIAGO 9 (Nelson 82)
Scorers: Thiago 30, 65, Yarmoliuk 73
Booked: Thiago, Janelt
Manager: Keith Andrews 8.5
SUNDERLAND (4-2-3-1): Roefs 6; Mukiele 6, Ballard 6.5 (Cirkin 79), Alderete 5 (O’Nein 83), Hume 5.5; Xhaka 6, Geertruida 6 (Neil 79); Rigg 5.5 (Mayenda 52, 5.5), Fee 5, Adingra 6 (Mundle 52, 6.5) ; Brobbey 6.5
Scorers: None
Booked: Hume
Manager: Regis Le Bris 5
Referee: Matthew Donohue 6.5
Attendance: 17,016
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‘To come from the Bulgarian league, then the Belgian league, have a year out injured, and affect the league like this – he’s exceeded expectations,’ added Brentford boss Keith Andrews.
‘He’s been sensational and it’s not just the goals but the selfless way he plays the game. His mentality is as good as I’ve ever come across. He’s a complete centre-forward. I wouldn’t swap him for anybody.’
Thiago’s heroics hoisted Brentford up to fifth and a point behind Liverpool. A Brentford side, remember, that was going to be lucky to survive after a summer in which they lost Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, their two top scorers, as well as their goalkeeper, their captain and their inspirational manager, who was replaced by Andrews, a man with no managerial experience who used to do a bit of EFL punditry for Sky Sports.
Well, that former pundit and set-piece coach now has 33 points while Thomas Frank, the man who left to be in such European scraps, sits nine places and six points below his old colleague after defeat at Bournemouth.
As Andrews will tell you, Brentford’s strength comes from the collective. Vitaly Janelt, not one of the ‘shiny toys’ as Andrews put it, played the splitting pass for the opener. Yehor Yarmoliuk slotted in the third. Kevin Schade, Keane Lewis-Potter, Mikkel Damsgaard and Reiss Nelson all hit the woodwork.
And it was Caoimhin Kelleher who saved Enzo Le Fee’s embarrassing Panenka penalty at 1-0, a moment on which the game could have gone into a completely different direction.
Because if we’ve learned anything about Sunderland, it’s that they are not ones to accept their fate without a scrap. The Black Cats, feeling the strain of having six key players at AFCON, were in the ascendancy when Kristoffer Ajer manhandled Brian Brobbey to hand Sunderland a penalty.
Only Le Fee dinked it and Kelleher stood his ground. ‘If you don’t take risks, you can’t make any mistakes,’ said a supportive Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris.
In a week where sides like West Ham stare relegation in the face and Manchester United sacked yet another manager, Brentford showed once again what miracles you can achieve when you do things properly.
And what you can when you have a number 9 as supreme as Thiago leading the charge for you. That one doesn’t just apply to Brentford. There’s a World Cup this summer and Brazil need a striker. The race is on and, right now, Thiago is winning it.
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Brentford 3-0 Sunderland: Igor Thiago puts his name among pantheon of Brazilians to play in Premier League – as Bees striker adds brace to make history and inspire Keith Andrews’ side to yet another win