diff --git a/src/core/cgroup.c b/src/core/cgroup.c
index e604c3cbc..b19e442df 100644
--- a/src/core/cgroup.c
+++ b/src/core/cgroup.c
@@ -781,8 +781,10 @@ void unit_destroy_cgroup(Unit *u) {
                 return;
 
         r = cg_trim_everywhere(u->manager->cgroup_supported, u->cgroup_path, !unit_has_name(u, SPECIAL_ROOT_SLICE));
-        if (r < 0)
+        if (r < 0) {
                 log_debug("Failed to destroy cgroup %s: %s", u->cgroup_path, strerror(-r));
+                return;
+        }
 
         hashmap_remove(u->manager->cgroup_unit, u->cgroup_path);