Mailula netted the equaliser against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday seconds after coming onto the pitch, having scored the winner against Polokwane in the MTN8 the week before.
It has been some impact from the 25-year-old, but also a continuation of the goalscoring exploits for the Brazilians that have made him one of the most deadly forwards in the Betway Premiership since he made his debut in September 2022.
It took his tally of league goals for the club to 10 in 20 appearances (12 starts), or a goal every 105 minutes.
Only his teammate, Colombian forward Brayan Leon, has been a more frequent scorer in that time (minimum 10 goals), with his 11 league goals coming every 89 minutes.
Lucas Ribeiro scored every 119 minutes while at Sundowns, while another Sundowns forward, Iqraam Rayners, has scored a league goal every 136 minutes over that period, though some were with Stellenbosch. Samir Nurkovic (161 minutes) rounds out the top five.
AmaZulu’s Zimbabwean Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya is scoring every 151 minutes, but has nine goals and will enter the list if he nets in their next game against Sundowns on August 26.
If you include Mailula’s 18 goals in all competitions, his stats are even better, as he finds the back of the net every 103 minutes. That includes seven goals in seven starts (10 appearances) in the CAF Champions League.
Away from Sundowns he averages a goal every 308 minutes.
His PSL record shows the potency of Mailula and that rarest of things in South African football, a real ‘fox-in-the-box’ style poacher who is reliable from six yards. He is the kind of player who, if you feed him chances, you know will score.
“Cassius showed a lot of intention to come to the club. As soon as he came and started to train, I saw that this boy is ours,” Cardoso told reporters. “He feels at home, he is happy and the best thing in life is when your emotions are positive towards what you do.
“Last year, for a lot of the time, not publicly, but it was clear that I was appealing and asking for more options up front, so we could have more variety of players. We struggled to have the capacity to put players up front and to have energy.
“This season is a bit better. Some youngsters still show that they lack the capacity to decide in the best way what to do. They want an extra dribble or a shot on goal too early. But they are also being given an opportunity to grow.
“Sometimes the price is that you don’t get the result, but they are doing well.”
Sundowns are next in action on Wednesday night when they host Marumo Gallants in their rearranged league fixture from the opening day of the season.