| Season | 1979 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Spartak Moscow |
| Relegated | Zaria Voroshilovgrad,Krylya Sovetov Kuibyshev |
| European Cup | Spartak Moscow |
| Cup Winners' Cup | Dinamo Tbilisi |
| UEFA Cup | Dinamo Moscow Dinamo Kiev Shakhter Donetsk |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 758 (2.48 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | (26)Vitaliy Starukhin (Shakhter) |
←1978 1980 → | |
Statistics ofSoviet Top League for the 1979 season.
1979 Top League was composed of 18 teams, the championship was won bySpartak Moscow.
On 11 August 1979, amid-air collision killed virtually the entireFC Pakhtakor Tashkent team. The Top League ordered all the other teams to make three players available for a draft to restock the team, and Pakhtakor was given exemption from relegation for the next three years.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 34 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 66 | 25 | +41 | 50[a] | Qualification forEuropean Cup first round | |
| 2 | 34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 57 | 33 | +24 | 48 | Qualification forUEFA Cup first round | |
| 3 | 34 | 21 | 5 | 8 | 51 | 26 | +25 | 47 | ||
| 4 | 34 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 54 | 27 | +27 | 46[b] | Qualification forCup Winners' Cup first round | |
| 5 | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 41 | 27 | +14 | 42[c] | Qualification forUEFA Cup first round | |
| 6 | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 48 | 38 | +10 | 36 | ||
| 7 | 34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 44 | 32 | +12 | 32[d] | ||
| 8 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 32 | ||
| 9 | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 42 | 53 | −11 | 30[c] | ||
| 10 | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 41 | 45 | −4 | 30[c] | ||
| 11 | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 32 | 37 | −5 | 28[e] | ||
| 12 | 34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 24[b] | ||
| 13 | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 24[c] | ||
| 14 | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 29 | 50 | −21 | 24 | ||
| 15 | 34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 24[f] | ||
| 16 | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 32 | 46 | −14 | 24[c] | ||
| 17 | 34 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 41 | 62 | −21 | 20[e] | Relegation toFirst League | |
| 18 | 34 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 24 | 60 | −36 | 19 |
| Home \ Away | ARA | CHO | CSK | DYK | DMN | DYN | DTB | KAI | KRY | LOK | NEF | PAK | SHA | SKA | SPA | TOR | ZAR | ZEN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ararat Yerevan | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | |
| Chornomorets Odessa | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | |
| CSKA Moscow | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–5 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | |
| Dinamo Minsk | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 6–2 | 3–1 | |
| Dynamo Moscow | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | |
| Dinamo Tbilisi | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | |
| Kairat Alma-Ata | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | |
| Krylya Sovetov Kuibyshev | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–5 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–8 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | |
| Neftçi Baku | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | |
| Pakhtakor Tashkent | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | |
| SKA Rostov-on-Don | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | |
| Spartak Moscow | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | |
| Torpedo Moscow | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 6–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |
| Zaria Voroshilovgrad | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–5 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–2 | |
| Zenit Leningrad | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 |