Liverpool retained the league championship with a 4–1 win over Aston Villa at Anfield on 3 May 1980. David Johnson scored twice and Avi Cohen found both nets as Bob Paisley's side secured the club's 12th title with a match to spare.
Only two days had passed since Arsenal ended Liverpool's FA Cup campaign in the third replay of their semi-final. A win over Villa would settle the remaining league contest regardless of Manchester United's result at Leeds.
Johnson put Liverpool ahead after three minutes. Terry McDermott returned a partly cleared ball into the penalty area, and Johnson finished from close range. The lead lasted until the 26th minute, when Cohen's attempted intervention against Ivor Linton sent the ball over Ray Clemence and into Liverpool's goal.
Cohen, retained in the side after playing in the cup defeat at Coventry, was making his first Anfield appearance. He had scored at the wrong end in front of the Kop; early in the second half he put Liverpool back ahead at the same end. His low shot through a crowded penalty area made it 2–1.
Johnson then scored from distance in the 72nd minute. Noel Blake's own goal six minutes later completed the scoring, turning a match level at half-time into a decisive home victory before 51,541 spectators.
Manchester United lost 2–0 at Leeds and finished their programme on 58 points. Liverpool now had 60, with the visit to Middlesbrough still to come. Their FA Cup pursuit had ended on Thursday; by Saturday, a second successive league championship was secure.