diff --git a/src/libsysprof/sysprof-perf-counter.c b/src/libsysprof/sysprof-perf-counter.c
index ef445d3a..2bc61cc0 100644
--- a/src/libsysprof/sysprof-perf-counter.c
+++ b/src/libsysprof/sysprof-perf-counter.c
@@ -431,7 +431,10 @@ sysprof_perf_counter_open (SysprofPerfCounter     *self,
   g_return_val_if_fail (group_fd >= -1, -1);
 
   if (sysprof_helpers_perf_event_open (helpers, attr, pid, cpu, group_fd, flags, NULL, &out_fd, NULL))
-    return out_fd;
+    {
+      sysprof_perf_counter_take_fd (self, out_fd);
+      return out_fd;
+    }
 
   return -1;
 }