Zlatan Ibrahimovic got his first start in over seven weeks but AC Milan had to battle into the Italian Cup quarterfinals with a 5-4 win on penalties over Torino after Tuesday's match ended 0-0 after extra time.

Hakan Calhanoglu slotted in the winning penalty with Tomas Rincon missing from the spot for Torino in the San Siro after a stalemate following 120 minutes of play.

"It was a very hard battle, but Milan never gave up, we were a team for 120 minutes," said coach Stefano Pioli. 

"These players make me proud, for how they train and their commitment. 

"You can see that I feel good here at Milan. This team makes me proud. And when you are so happy, you convey confidence."

Ibrahimovic had made a brief late appearance last weekend in a 2-0 win over Torino in Serie A, having been sidelined with a left thigh injury since scoring a double against Napoli on November 22.

"I wanted to give Ibra a longer time after his return to the championship," continued Pioli.

On Tuesday, the 38-year-old Swede played the first half before being substituted off for Calhanoglu.

Ex-Milan coach Marco Giampaolo's Torino gave the hosts more of a battle than Saturday, with both sides missing chances in a clash between two former five-time former winners.

Ciprian Tatarusanu was in the Milan goal in place of Gianluigi Donnarumma with defender Mateo Musacchio playing for the first time in nearly a year.

Tatarusanu did well to deny Simone Zaza and Amer Gojak, while Torino counterpart Vanja Milinkovic-Savic kept out Rafael Leao and Davide Calabria from a distance.

Milan's Brahim Diaz had the best chance to finish off the game four minutes from time, but the Spanish forward sent over the bar on front of goal.