diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/EntityReferenceFieldItemList.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/EntityReferenceFieldItemList.php
index 9d85e477b6..ce35238fad 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/EntityReferenceFieldItemList.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/EntityReferenceFieldItemList.php
@@ -145,15 +145,14 @@ public function removeItemsByTargetId($target_id) {
       // one item at a time with removeItem() as that re-keys the list array
       // when it is called. This means the wrong items can be removed on
       // subsequent iterations.
-      $items = $this->list;
-
-      foreach ($items as $delta => $item) {
+      foreach ($this->list as $delta => $item) {
         if ($item->target_id == $target_id) {
-          unset($items[$delta]);
+          unset($this->list[$delta]);
         }
       }
 
-      $this->setValue($items);
+      // Re-key the items.
+      $this->rekey();
     }
 
     return $this;