diff --git a/tools/lib/perf/evsel.c b/tools/lib/perf/evsel.c
index c1d58673f6ef..952f3520d5c2 100644
--- a/tools/lib/perf/evsel.c
+++ b/tools/lib/perf/evsel.c
@@ -149,23 +149,30 @@ int perf_evsel__open(struct perf_evsel *evsel, struct perf_cpu_map *cpus,
 			int fd, group_fd, *evsel_fd;
 
 			evsel_fd = FD(evsel, idx, thread);
-			if (evsel_fd == NULL)
-				return -EINVAL;
+			if (evsel_fd == NULL) {
+				err = -EINVAL;
+				goto out;
+			}
 
 			err = get_group_fd(evsel, idx, thread, &group_fd);
 			if (err < 0)
-				return err;
+				goto out;
 
 			fd = sys_perf_event_open(&evsel->attr,
 						 threads->map[thread].pid,
 						 cpu, group_fd, 0);
 
-			if (fd < 0)
-				return -errno;
+			if (fd < 0) {
+				err = -errno;
+				goto out;
+			}
 
 			*evsel_fd = fd;
 		}
 	}
+out:
+	if (err)
+		perf_evsel__close(evsel);
 
 	return err;
 }