diff --git a/src/core/cgroup.c b/src/core/cgroup.c
index 62a3d86ef1..87545a28ae 100644
--- a/src/core/cgroup.c
+++ b/src/core/cgroup.c
@@ -2305,7 +2305,7 @@ void manager_shutdown_cgroup(Manager *m, bool delete) {
 
         /* We can't really delete the group, since we are in it. But
          * let's trim it. */
-        if (delete && m->cgroup_root)
+        if (delete && m->cgroup_root && m->test_run_flags != MANAGER_TEST_RUN_MINIMAL)
                 (void) cg_trim(SYSTEMD_CGROUP_CONTROLLER, m->cgroup_root, false);
 
         m->cgroup_empty_event_source = sd_event_source_unref(m->cgroup_empty_event_source);