Liverpool followed their opening-day win over Queens Park Rangers with a 3–0 victory at Ipswich Town on 22 August 1978. Graeme Souness scored first and Kenny Dalglish added two, giving Bob Paisley's side a second league win in four days.
Paisley kept the eleven that had beaten QPR 2–1 at Anfield. Alan Kennedy lined up alongside Phil Neal, Phil Thompson and captain Emlyn Hughes, while Dalglish and Steve Heighway continued in attack. Alan Hansen was the unused substitute.
Souness put Liverpool ahead after 17 minutes. Five minutes later, Heighway supplied Dalglish for the second, and Ipswich reached half-time two goals behind.
The Liverpool Echo's report identified Souness and Heighway as the outstanding performers. It described Souness controlling the midfield through his distribution, against an Ipswich side weakened by injuries. Liverpool's advantage on the scoreboard reflected their command of the game, although the report also noted several missed chances.
Ipswich replaced Brian Talbot with Eric Gates during the second half. Liverpool made no change, and Dalglish completed the scoring in the 74th minute from Souness's assist.
The crowd of 28,114 had seen Liverpool score three without reply on their first league trip of the season. Dalglish, who had also scored against QPR, already had three goals from two matches. Liverpool left Portman Road with maximum points and a first clean sheet of the new campaign.