Rodrigo Moledo turned a late Atletiba into a night Coritiba will not forget. The 39-year-old defender scored twice in stoppage time, in the 92nd and 97th minutes, to rescue a 3-3 draw with Athletico at the Couto Pereira on 11 September 2026.
Coritiba had been 3-1 down before Moledo’s two headers completed the comeback. In front of 26,000 spectators, the match unfolded in severe rain and mud, which only added to the sense that this was one of those games that refused to follow a normal script.
A classic Atletiba with a late twist
The 3-3 finish places this match alongside other memorable Atletiba meetings. The rivalry has long produced dramatic swings, and this one joined that list because Coritiba found a way back after Athletico looked set to take control.
That late response also fits the wider history of the derby. On 14 March 1971, Athletico came back from 2-0 down to beat Coritiba 4-3 at Belfort Duarte. The 2026 meeting delivered a different outcome, but the same sense of chaos and urgency that has often defined the fixture.
Why the finish mattered
Moledo’s equalizers mattered not just because of the scoreline, but because of when they arrived. Scoring once in stoppage time is difficult enough. Scoring twice, both with headers, to erase a two-goal deficit is the kind of ending that gives a derby lasting recall.
For Coritiba, it was a point earned from a match that had been slipping away. For Athletico, it was a reminder that no lead is safe in a game with this much history and emotion attached to it.
Part of a longer derby story
Augusto Mafuz has often treated moments like this as part of the larger language of football history. Born in Guarapuava on 11 May 1949, he began as a field reporter in 1968 and became a columnist at Tribuna do Paraná in 1977. He has long been closely identified with Athletico coverage, and his view of the game reflects the idea that some matches are simply built to be remembered.
That idea echoes the famous line Nelson Rodrigues used in 1963 after the 0-0 Fla-Flu: “Pior para os fatos!” In the case of this Atletiba, the facts were dramatic enough on their own. Coritiba came back from 3-1 down, Rodrigo Moledo scored twice in stoppage time, and the match finished 3-3 at the Couto Pereira.
As Augusto Mafuz also put it: “Feliz daquele que vive para contar.”
