1979 Soviet Top League
| 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 |
| Top goalscorer | (26) Vitaliy Starukhin (Shakhter) |
← 1978 1980 → | |
Statistics of Soviet Top League for the 1979 season.
Overview
1979 Top League was composed of 18 teams, the championship was won by Spartak Moscow.
On 11 August 1979, a mid-air collision killed virtually the entire FC 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.
League standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Spartak Moscow (C)
|
34 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 66 | 25 | +41 | 50[a] | Qualification for European Cup first round |
| 2 |  Shakhtar Donetsk
|
34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 57 | 33 | +24 | 48 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Dynamo Kyiv
|
34 | 21 | 5 | 8 | 51 | 26 | +25 | 47 | |
| 4 |  Dinamo Tbilisi
|
34 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 54 | 27 | +27 | 46[b] | Qualification for Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 5 | Dynamo Moscow
|
34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 41 | 27 | +14 | 42[c] | Qualification for UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 |  Dinamo Minsk
|
34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 48 | 38 | +10 | 36 | |
| 7 |  Ararat Yerevan
|
34 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 44 | 32 | +12 | 32[d] | |
| 8 | CSKA Moscow
|
34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 32 | |
| 9 |  Pakhtakor Tashkent
|
34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 42 | 53 | −11 | 30[c] | |
| 10 | Zenit Leningrad
|
34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 41 | 45 | −4 | 30[c] | |
| 11 | Chornomorets Odessa
|
34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 32 | 37 | −5 | 28[e] | |
| 12 | Lokomotiv Moscow
|
34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 24[b] | |
| 13 |  Kairat Almaty
|
34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 24[c] | |
| 14 |  Neftchi Baku
|
34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 29 | 50 | −21 | 24 | |
| 15 | SKA Rostov-on-Don
|
34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 24[f] | |
| 16 | Torpedo Moscow
|
34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 32 | 46 | −14 | 24[c] | |
| 17 | Zaria Voroshilovgrad (R)
|
34 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 41 | 62 | −21 | 20[e] | Relegation to First League |
| 18 | Krylya Sovetov Kuibyshev (R)
|
34 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 24 | 60 | −36 | 19 |
Top scorers
- 26 goals
- Vitali Starukhin (Shakhtar)
- 17 goals
- Sergey Andreyev (SKA Rostov-on-Don)
- Oleg Blokhin (Dynamo Kyiv)
- Khoren Hovhannisyan (Ararat)
- Valeriy Petrakov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
- 16 goals
- Yuri Chesnokov (CSKA Moscow)
- Vladimir Kazachyonok (Zenit)
- 14 goals
- Aleksandr Prokopenko (Dinamo Minsk)
- Georgi Yartsev (Spartak Moscow)
- Nikolai Vasilyev (Torpedo Moscow)