diff --git a/fs/btrfs/defrag.c b/fs/btrfs/defrag.c
index 0a3c261b69c9f..d81b764a76446 100644
--- a/fs/btrfs/defrag.c
+++ b/fs/btrfs/defrag.c
@@ -358,8 +358,10 @@ int btrfs_defrag_leaves(struct btrfs_trans_handle *trans,
 		goto out;
 
 	path = btrfs_alloc_path();
-	if (!path)
-		return -ENOMEM;
+	if (!path) {
+		ret = -ENOMEM;
+		goto out;
+	}
 
 	level = btrfs_header_level(root->node);