By defeating Torino at home in Serie A thanks to a goal from Olivier Giroud, AC Milan snapped a seven-game losing streak.
From a left-wing cross by Theo Hernandez, Giroud scored with a glance.
Rafael Leao's pass after a swift counterattack gave Milan's Hernandez a great chance to add a second goal, but he missed it.
First-half opportunities for the visitors were better, but Antonio Sanabria missed his target and twice saw shots blocked by goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
The first leg of Milan's Champions League match against Tottenham will take place on Tuesday in Italy, with the return leg taking place on March 8 in London.
For the first time this season, the defending Italian champions used Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a 41-year-old striker who underwent knee surgery in the summer, as a substitute.
He was not required, though, as Stefano Pioli's team won to move up to third place from sixth, even though they are still 15 points behind Napoli, the league's undisputed leader.
Going into this game at the San Siro, Milan had not won since defeating Salernitana 2-1 on January 4 and had dropped four straight games.
Their losing streak included humiliating defeats to Lazio and Sassuolo in Serie A, a 1-0 home loss to Torino in the Coppa Italia round of 16, a 3-0 loss to Inter Milan in the Italian Super Cup, and 4-0 and 5-2 losses to Lazio and Sassuolo, respectively.
