AC Milan leapfrogged Udinese to move to eighth in Serie A thanks to a 1-0 win at the San Siro.

Valter Birsa's 22nd-minute strike was enough to earn the Rossoneri only their third win of the season - all coming at home - and edge them closer to the top five, inflicting Udinese's fourth defeat of the campaign.

It was also a decent warm-up for Massimiliano Allegri's men ahead of a Champions League clash with Barcelona on Tuesday.

Without the injured Mario Balotelli, who is also doubtful for Tuesday night, Allegri resisted the temptation of hastening Kaka's return from injury although the Brazilian did take his place on the bench.

With the first foggy evening of the autumn in Milan, that was hardly an ideal place for him to keep his muscles warm, and indeed the two teams appeared to be a little cold with the game in need of a spark.

Birsa tried to provide it with the first shot of the evening, saved easily by Ivan Kelava, before the former Genoa midfielder opened the scoring midway through the first half.

He picked up the ball 20 yards from goal and curled a left-footed shot away from Kelava's reach, nestling in the top right-hand corner.

The Rossoneri may have made the breakthrough but they certainly did not look fully in control of the game, especially not in the early exchanges of the second half.

The Zebrette finally started to put Milan's 21-year-old goalkeeper Gabriel to the test, with Antonio Di Natale predictably leading the way.

In the 63rd minute, the rookie goalkeeper responded in style, getting his fingertips to Di Natale's free-kick to get just enough of a touch to divert the ball onto the top of the crossbar.

Kaka then made his long-awaited return to the San Siro, setting foot on home turf in a Milan shirt for the first time since May 2009 and giving the home fans something to cheer - although there still remained more concern among the fans as Udinese continued to threaten an equaliser.

Muriel probably should have provided it in the 84th minute when he failed to take the ball in his stride when presented with just Gabriel to beat, Ignazio Abate recovering to put the Udinese forward off as Milan held on for a morale-boosting win.

AC Milan advisory board member Barbara Berlusconi has called for changes at the club, although coach Massimiliano Allegri’s job appears safe for the time being.   

In response to Milan’s worst start to a season since 1981, Berlusconi has asked her father, club president Silvio Berlusconi, to make changes to the way the club is run in future after a series of disappointing results left the Rossoneri languishing 16 points behind the top three after only 11 games.

Allegri’s job is hanging in the balance, while the club’s fans also called for general manager Adriano Galliani to go during a 2-0 defeat to Fiorentina at the weekend, but neither man’s future was directly on the agenda when Barbara spoke to Silvio on Sunday.

“In the numerous telephone conversations I’ve had with my father after the Fiorentina defeat, all I asked for was for a change in the business philosophy of AC Milan,” she said in La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’ve not asked for the general manager Adriano Galliani to be changed.”

According to Italy’s ANSA news agency, Barbara was not critical of the lack of investment in new players but rather concerned that the money has not been well spent, indirectly blaming Galliani, whose role it is to identify and sign new players.

However, former Milan captain Gennaro Gattuso believes greater investment is required if they are to reclaim former glories.

“If you want to build a strong team then you need to spend money,” he told Rai 3 television. “Milan are not going through a good time and they’re not spending much.

“Berlusconi has spent lots over the years and he’s made this club win many trophies. There always comes a time when the team is not as competitive and you need strong players, which this club has, but there are even stronger sides out there.”

Mario Balotelli's penalty miss cost AC Milan dear on Saturday night as they failed to get the better of 10-man Genoa, drawing 1-1 at the San Siro.

Milan, who were earlier on Monday drawn against Atletico Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League, are 10th.

The Rossoneri have won just one of their last eight league games and are 16 points behind Napoli, who hold the last Champions League qualifying spot.