Igor Thiago has one Brentford goal in seven games, so why is Keith Andrews keeping faith with him?

The Brazilian’s finishing needs to improve, but his contribution against Liverpool helps explain why Brentford’s head coach continues to back him.

Igor Thiago had already helped Brentford score against Liverpool when the chance came to rescue a point.

Jaidon Anthony broke forward and delivered a low cross. Thiago reached the dangerous area, but under pressure from Virgil van Dijk he could not direct the ball towards goal.

Earlier, he had supplied the delivery himself, crossing for Keane Lewis-Potter to head Brentford in front. There was a valuable contribution and a frustrating missed opportunity in the same afternoon.

That is the difficulty for Keith Andrews. His centre-forward is finding ways to help the attack, while falling short of the scoring standards he set last season.

Thiago scored 22 Premier League goals in 2025–26. He has one from seven appearances this term, yet has started every league game.

Igor Thiago’s finishing deserves scrutiny

The clearest concern is how few of his attempts are troubling goalkeepers.

Premier League, 2026–27	Thiago
Appearances	7
Minutes played	623
Goals	1
Shots	17
Shots on target	4
Expected goals	3.7
Non-penalty expected goals	2.9

Source: FotMob’s season-performance figures, covering league matches from 22 August to 17 October 2026. Expected-goals figures are rounded to one decimal place.

Four shots on target from 17 attempts is approximately 24%. The opportunities have been worth considerably more than his one-goal return, even after penalties are excluded.

His missed spot-kick against Tottenham contributes to that shortfall. Brentford were already three goals ahead when he sent Antonin Kinsky the wrong way but struck the post.

Expected goals measures the quality of chances already taken; it cannot promise that the next opportunity will go in. Seven matches also offer limited evidence about whether a finishing problem will persist.

There is nevertheless enough here to question his execution without concluding that Brentford have stopped creating chances for him.

Liverpool showed what he still offers

Thiago’s assist in the 2–1 defeat by Liverpool matters because it shows a contribution that survives a poor scoring run.

Receiving the ball from Sepp van den Berg, he delivered into the middle for Lewis-Potter’s run. The centre-forward became the provider and the left-back supplied the finish.

That flexibility gives Andrews something to weigh against the missed chances. Keeping Thiago involved outside the penalty area can help another player attack it.

There were also opportunities for him to finish. As Brentford’s own report details, Jeremy Jacquet intervened when Dango Ouattara picked him out, while Thiago headed over after Kristoffer Ajer nodded a free-kick back across goal.

Those incidents require different judgements: a defender preventing a clean attempt, a header sent over and a cross converted into an assist. Counting another appearance without a goal loses that detail.

Andrews is judging the whole attack

Speaking after the Liverpool match, Andrews said opponents were paying Thiago close attention and that other players were benefiting from the space.

“But his overall performances have been really good so I’m not really worried,” he said, in comments reported by Sky Sports.

Brentford have scored 13 league goals through nine different players. Their opening-day win over Tottenham brought goals from Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode, illustrating how widely the responsibility is shared.

That spread helps explain Andrews’ patience. It would go too far to credit Thiago with creating every team-mate’s opportunity, but the Liverpool assist provides a specific example of his value.

With Callum Wilson among the unused substitutes against Liverpool, Andrews also had an experienced alternative available.

The next step is turning involvement into goals

Brentford’s results leave room for improvement. Their two league victories have both finished 3–0, while four draws limited the return from their unbeaten opening six matches.

More reliable finishing from Thiago could help in those tighter contests. Equally, changing the centre-forward would require Andrews to consider what happened to the combinations around him.

For now, retaining Thiago is defensible: he is reaching threatening positions, has demonstrated that he can create for others and remains part of an attack scoring regularly.

The next test comes at Hull on Sunday. Andrews has reasons to stay patient, but Thiago needs to turn more of those promising positions into attempts that force a save.