In the other match of the day, Valon Behrami scored on 20 minutes with a deflected strike to gift West Ham United a 1-0 win at Sunderland.

West Ham rose to 13th on 17 points after their first victory in eight games. Sunderland are just above the drop zone on 15.

Pavlyuchenko gave Tottenham the lead after only ten minutes at White Hart Lane and the visitors soon did them a favor, having defender Martin Olsson sent off on 39 minutes.

The victory lifted Tottenham, who were rooted to the bottom with two a month ago, to 15th on 15 points while Blackburn were left to second from the bottom on 13.

Aaron Lennon set up the winner for Spurs when he robbed Olsson, went on a run and cut the ball back for Pavlyuchenko to slot in.

The Russian striker could have doubled the lead shortly after his goal when his glancing header hit a post.

Blackburn's task was made twice as hard when Olsson was dismissed for two yellow cards as he was twice penalized for bringing down the lively Lennon.

Despite the numerical advantage and greater share of possession, Tottenham only managed to kill the game off after the restart.