 Villa were back among the elite as Saunders continued to mould a winning team . This culminated in a seventh top @-@ flight league title in 1980 – 81 . To the surprise of commentators and fans , Saunders quit halfway through the 1981 – 82 season , after falling out with the chairman , with Villa in the quarter final of the European Cup . He was replaced by his <unk> @-@ spoken assistant manager Tony Barton who guided the club to a 1 – 0 victory over Bayern Munich in the European Cup final in Rotterdam courtesy of a Peter <unk> goal . The following season Villa were crowned European Super Cup winners , beating Barcelona in the final . This marked a pinnacle though and Villa 's fortunes declined sharply for most of the 1980s , culminating in relegation in 1987 . This was followed by promotion the following year under Graham Taylor and a runners @-@ up position in the First Division in the 1989 – 90 season . 
