diff --git a/axum/CHANGELOG.md b/axum/CHANGELOG.md
index 6db978fe..9a3eca14 100644
--- a/axum/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/axum/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 # Unreleased
 
-- None.
+- **fixed:** Fix compile error in release mode ([#1517])
+
+[#1517]: https://github.com/tokio-rs/axum/pull/1517
 
 # 0.6.0-rc.3 (8. November, 2022)
 
diff --git a/axum/src/extract/matched_path.rs b/axum/src/extract/matched_path.rs
index ef20cdb9..9ad5457b 100644
--- a/axum/src/extract/matched_path.rs
+++ b/axum/src/extract/matched_path.rs
@@ -135,6 +135,8 @@ pub(crate) fn set_matched_path_for_request(
     } else {
         #[cfg(debug_assertions)]
         panic!("should always have a matched path for a route id");
+        #[cfg(not(debug_assertions))]
+        return;
     };
 
     let matched_path = append_nested_matched_path(matched_path, extensions);