Aston Villa's push for the European places continued with a 2-0 victory over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest, who dropped into the bottom three
After a drab opening half, the hosts needed just three minutes of the second to take the lead, Traore side-footing into the far corner after pouncing on Jonjo Shelvey's loose pass inside his own area
The game was eventually made safe deep into stoppage time when Ollie Watkins contined his red-hot streak in front of goal, grabbing his ninth goal in 11 matches to seal all three points
Victory sees Unai Emery's side, who are on a run of four straight league wins, move up to sixth as their dreams of securing European football for next season stay firmly on track
However, head coach Emery insists his side need to stay "realistic" over their European ambitions
He said: "Another target we have is to go to Europe
"Other teams are playing well
 But it [sixth place] is not real, Brighton have two matches less than us, Liverpool as well and we have to wait
"We have to be realistic and ambitious as well
 Our next match is to win
"Meanwhile, Forest are now without a win in nine league games as the pressure continues to build on Steve Cooper
 He was backed in midweek by owner Evangelos Marinakis but a statement from the club warned "results and performances must improve immediately" as the threat of relegation looms large
Defeat at Villa Park leaves Forest, who face Manchester United and Liverpool in their next league matches, in the relegation zone on goal difference with eight games left to play
It's the first time they have dropped into the bottom three since January and boss Cooper insists Forest cannto feel sorry for themselves as they look to stay in the Premier League
He said: "You have to accept it when you don't take care of your own business
 We have to take it and the negativity that comes with it, and we have to do our best to get out of trouble
When asked whether he can take positives from the defeat to Villa, he added:"We were fine in the game
 We're away from home, our away record speaks for itself and we won't try and hide from that, I certainly won't
 We were fine
 To give that goal away and the way we gave it away, we can only blame ourselves
 Even though we did respond well, [having] 10 men completely stifled our rhythm and it felt like a day where a lot of things didn't go our way
"Aston Villa would have been hoping for a fast start as they looked to continue their fine recent results, and in-form Watkins almost gave them the lead inside four minutes, but the striker dragged his strike wide of the far post
It was to be Villa's best opening of the half as the hosts struggled to find any rhythm against a spirited Nottingham Forest side
Both sides were disrupted by injuries as Leon Bailey was replaced by Traore for the hosts and Remo Freuler came on for Cheikhou Kouyate, and it was Cooper's side who looked the more threatening
Brennan Johnson's cut-back found Morgan Gibbs-White just inside the Villa penalty area, but the forward failed to make a connection with his attempted shot as the opportunity went begging
Villa did create one final opening before the end of the first half as Alex Moreno's cross found its way to Traore at the far post, but the winger blazed a wild shot high over the crossbar to sum up the home side's opening 45 minutes
Whatever Emery said to his side at the interval worked a treat as Traore put his poor finish at the end of the first half well and truly behind him
However, it was a goal Forest shouldn't have conceded
 Traore's initial shot was pushed out to Shelvey by Keylor Navas, and the midfielder inexplicably played the ball straight back to Traore, who curled the ball into the far corner from eight yards
Forest looked for an instant response as Gibbs-White's shot from the edge of the area was deflected over while Danilo forced goalkeeper Emi Martinez into a low save with a shot from distance
But they failed to create anything clear-cut before Villa killed the game in time added on
Forest, playing with 10 men as because of an injury to Moussa Niakhate with all their substitutions already made, were cut open and Jacob Ramsey set up Watkins to turn and finish from close range to spark the celebrations
European qualification probably wasn't on anyone's radar when Unai Emery took over from Steven Gerrard in November
But a sparkling run of form which has seen them win six of their last seven matches has put them in real contention for European qualification, with the Europa League firmly in their sights after the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest propelled them up to sixth
You can make an argument that Villa weren't at their best against Forest at Villa Park but in truth, they didn't really have to get out of second gear against Steve Cooper's relegation-threatened side
Villa did just enough, toying with the opposition as goals from Bertrand Traore and the in-form Ollie Watkins sealed a fourth successive league win for the first time since October 2020 under Dean Smith
They have now scored in all 17 of their Premier League games under Emery
 Only Chelsea under Carlo Ancelotti and Norwich under Mike Walker have scored in more consecutive games from the start of a manager's tenure (both first 18)
Emery has these Villa players purring and playing with so much confidence
 They are on course for their best finish since 2009/10 and before the end of the season they play against plenty of the sides in and around them in the tableIn this mood, they will be a difficult proposition for anyone
"Very happy, above all for our fans because we're winning at home
 Clean sheet
 We scored two goals in four matches now
 We're going up in the table but we have to take balance as well with the difficult matches we have in front
"[This] match was the same, we were thinking
 It was difficult
 We share our moments with our supporters and are taking more information to continue in our way
"Another target we have is to go to Europe
 Other teams are playing well
 But [sixth place] is not real, Brighton have two matches less than us, Liverpool as well and we have to wait
 We have to be realistic and ambitious as well
 Our next match is to win
""The first goal is more than costly
 Villa had the ball and territory but really Keylor [Navas] hasn't had to make a save in the whole game
 The second goal is what it is because we're down to 10 men with injuries today
 Although we had to control the game without the ball we were comfortable
 Villa didn't look a threat at all, but they're a good team
 We've given the goal away and the game has changed
"We recovered well, had quite a few attacks and a lot of set-pieces and corners
 We tried to make changes to keep the impetus
 After that we had had to go down to 10 men because we picked up an injury
 Just another disappointing day
""We were fine in the game
 We're away from home, our away record speaks for itself and we won't try and hide from that, I certainly won't
 We were fine
 To give that goal away and the way we gave it away, we can only blame ourselves
 Even though we did respond well, [having] 10 men completely stifled our rhythm and it felt like a day where a lot of things didn't go our way
"Aston Villa are unbeaten in each of their last seven Premier League games (W6 D1), winning each of the last four for the first time since October 2020 under Dean Smith
Villa have scored in all 17 of their Premier League games under Unai Emery so far (W11 D2 L4), only Chelsea under Carlo Ancelotti and Norwich under Mike Walker have scored in more consecutive games from the start of a manager's tenure (both first 18)