diff --git a/src/cluster.c b/src/cluster.c
index 6d111500f..862c3c572 100644
--- a/src/cluster.c
+++ b/src/cluster.c
@@ -845,10 +845,15 @@ void setClusterNodeToInboundClusterLink(clusterNode *node, clusterLink *link) {
         /* A peer may disconnect and then reconnect with us, and it's not guaranteed that
          * we would always process the disconnection of the existing inbound link before
          * accepting a new existing inbound link. Therefore, it's possible to have more than
-         * one inbound link from the same node at the same time. */
+         * one inbound link from the same node at the same time. Our cleanup logic assumes
+         * a one to one relationship between nodes and inbound links, so we need to kill
+         * one of the links. The existing link is more likely the outdated one, but it's
+         * possible the the other node may need to open another link. */
         serverLog(LL_DEBUG, "Replacing inbound link fd %d from node %.40s with fd %d",
                 node->inbound_link->conn->fd, node->name, link->conn->fd);
+        freeClusterLink(node->inbound_link);
     }
+    serverAssert(!node->inbound_link);
     node->inbound_link = link;
     link->node = node;
 }