A Champions League match involving Cristiano Ronaldo has been postponed due to an alert in Riyadh.

The Saudi military coalition against the Houthis announced in the evening that it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by pro-Iranian forces towards the Saudi capital.

The attendance at "Al-Awal Park" stadium was rather sparse for this match, which was originally scheduled to kick off at 21:15 local time (18:15 GMT). The announcer reassured the audience that the situation was under control, that the match would proceed as planned, and urged spectators to remain in their seats.

However, the official channel broadcasting the match reported that “the kickoff has been delayed” by one hour, with the match now set to start at 22:15 (19:15 GMT).

Shortly before, AFP journalists had heard explosions in Riyadh. Meanwhile, residents of the capital received an alert on their phones stating: “The area is under hostile aerial threat. Please remain calm and shelter at home or in a safe place, away from windows and doors, and follow the instructions of civil defense.”

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Subsequently, the coalition announced that it had “intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards Riyadh.”

Riyadh has recently been the target of unprecedented attacks since the start of the conflict in Yemen in 2014 between the Iran-backed Houthis and government forces, which received support from a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia the following year.

This incident did not seem to affect Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored the 981st goal of his career just before halftime. Al Nassr led 2-1 at the hour mark.

Among the Portuguese superstar's teammates are French players Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan, as well as Senegalese Sadio Mané and Portuguese Joao Félix.